My Little Badger
by pearl84
Summary: A rash move from Danny leaves him with a very angry Vlad in hand, who quickly decides to teach him a lesson in respect by the only way he knows how: Humiliation. The fiery teen soon finds himself to be a fiery Badger!
1. Chapter 1: Cats and Dogs

Hello all! This is a small story that popped into my head during my Spring break. It's not the _most _original idea, but I couldn't stop myself! Just a fair warning. It takes place after "An Eye for an Eye" so their might be some spoilers here and there.

**Summary:** After a rash move, Danny finds himself with a very peeved Vlad Masters who quickly decides to teach his young rival a lesson in respect by the only way he knows how: Humiliation. In what Vlad believes to be a well calculated revenge scheme, the fiery teenager soon finds himself to be a fiery badger! Vlad however soon realizes his decision was as rash as Danny's, leading them both to a lesson in karma.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Danny Phantom; Butch Hartman is the sole owner of this awesome show, hence all its characters.

**Title:** My Little Badger

**

* * *

Chapter One: Cats and Dogs **

Danny flew at top speed through the park, swerving to avoid the various trees and a very large ghost right on his tail. "Ugh! I'm so late!" he exclaimed, before yelping in surprise at almost getting caught by his pursuer.

Danny looked down at the large growling dog chasing after him. "Why is it always the crazed up ghosts that are attracted to- Ah!" The ghost dog flew up in the air and pounced on the teen, sending him crashing painfully to the ground.

Danny groaned in annoyance as the large dog changed into a puppy. It barked and yapped happily at him, a squeaky toy in its mouth. Danny tiredly sat up, taking the toy from the ghost's mouth. "Cujo, I can't play with you!" he said with frustration.

Cujo simply slobbered him in kisses, the teen's words not understood. Danny half heartedly threw the toy, causing the ghost to grow in size and run after it. The very miffed teen sat there, his hand sliding across his face.

Cujo not only woke him up an hour before his alarm clock went off- meaning he was still in his PJs and had not eaten anything- but had kept him out for almost three hours now. He didn't like using the thermos with the ghost dog unless he was endangering others, but the fact that the dog was endangering his Friday hang out night, with the sure detention he was going to get for being late to school was enough to get him to use the thermos…unfortunately Cujo decided it was another chew toy and completely crushed it.

So here he was; school had started a good fifteen minutes ago and no matter what he did he could not lose the hyperactive dog. He had thrown the canine's toy so many times in an attempt to get away from him that he had lost count. The dog kept tracking him down no matter how fast he flew, how far he threw the toy, or how many times he hid, the dog kept finding him.

"Ruff!"

The sulking ghost boy broke away from his thoughts at seeing the dog had returned and placed the toy down next to him, his tail wagging expectantly. "Maybe I can lure him into the ghost zone." He voiced to himself, throwing the toy once again. "But mom and dad are home; I would risk becoming their guinea pig for that new ghost weapon they made."

Danny cringed at the mental image, before standing up. "Darn it! I can't go to school with a 10 foot tall green dog following me!"

Danny flew up, ignoring the large dog on his heel who wanted him to throw the toy that it held in its mouth again. "I have to get him into the ghost zone, but-"

Danny halted, a pondering expression appearing on his face. "Doesn't Vlad have a portal?"

A mischievous grin spread on his lips. "Maybe having that crazed up fruit loop around here isn't such a bad thing."

Danny spun around, wickedness dancing in his eyes. "Cujo" the teen cooed causing the dog to fly up to eye level and change into a yapping puppy once more. Danny grabbed the slobbered toy from the dog's mouth. "Catch me if you can!" he taunted, flying away from the dog. The puppy quickly turned into its intimidating form and chased after the ghost boy.

Danny flew high in the air to avoid the dog from destroying anything in its path, before he spotted what he was looking for. He glanced back to make sure the ghost dog was still following him, before he dove into the Mayor's large mansion.

Danny landed quietly in a large dinning room, but the sound of footsteps made him gasp. Without hesitation he turned invisible and tossed the toy on the table, knowing its owner would be coming to find it at any moment.

Vlad walked in wearing a white rob while caring a cup of coffee and a paper in his hand. Abruptly the man froze, causing Danny to pale.

"Can he sense me?" he wondered with dread, before two things broke both half ghosts from their stupor.

One, a soft meow from a small white cat next to Vlad's feet and two, a vibrating growl emitting from a large ghost dog that had just materialized in the room.

Vlad's eyes widen at seeing a 10 foot tall ghost canine in his dinning room, but what made his blood leave his body was the fixed way the dog stared at the small, slim cat beside him.

"Meow" the cat voiced pitifully at the imminent danger.

In an instant Cujo lunged at the cat, destroying everything in its path, its toy long forgotten.

Danny observed with broaden eyes as Vlad transformed in a flash and produced a large shield to stop the dog, but all the man did was cause himself to be propelled into a wall behind him, doing nothing more then buying his cat a one second head start.

Vlad stood up with a growl and flew after the dog, pulsing red energy in both his hands.

Danny stood there for a moment, trying to process everything that occurred in a span of a few seconds as well as trying to determine how to react to it.

"Ah! You stupid mongrel stay away from Maddie!" the teen heard Vlad exclaim.

That helped him decide.

Danny burst into laughter, which was muted by swearing, yowling, growling, and things breaking.

In his fit of laughter the teen lost his concentration on remaining invisible, not that it mattered since he was alone in the destroyed dinning room.

Danny floated up to leave, only to hit his head on the ceiling at forgetting to turn intangible.

Forcing himself to stop laughing for a moment, he phased out of his arch enemy's home.

Danny flew towards school, the fact that he was severely late, had not changed out of his sleepwear, and did not have his backpack completely left his mind from what he had just discovered.

Danny landed in one of the school bathrooms and changed back. He leaned against a sink, trying to take in air and calm himself. "I can't believe it" he said, trying not to crack up again. "He actually got himself a cat!"

Danny laughed full heartedly once more. He was _never_ going to let his arch enemy live this down. Just the thought of all the things he could say to him was making it harder to stop laughing but he slowly managed it. "Wow, that came out better then I thought." He said, finally heading to his class. "Nothing can ruin this day." He told himself with a smile.

* * *

"Mr. Fenton!" 

"S-Sorry I'm late, Mr. Lancer; I overslept." Danny explained rubbing his neck, while wondering why Sam and Tucker were looking at him, wide eyed.

"Yes, Mr. Fenton, I can _clearly_ see that. What I fail to understand is why you decided to attend the remaining five minutes of my class in your sleep wear, bare feet, and with no books!" Mr. Lancer reprimanded, with a peeved look.

Danny's eyes broadened, the entire classroom exploding with laughter. _"Well, at least I have clothes on"_ he thought with embarrassment, not knowing that his friends were thinking the same thing.

* * *

Vlad stomped out his lab, the portal shutting behind him. "Filthy beast." He growled, kicking a large piece of debris (which was once a large, expensive vase) from his path and heading towards one of his rooms. 

The half ghost billionaire changed to his human self. His torn and slobbered jump suit was instantly replaced by his clean white rob, but his disheveled hair and the dog smell emitting from the man's self were still evident.

Vlad leaned down, looking under a half destroyed bed. He could see his cat's blue eyes glowing in the darkness of her hiding place, a warning growl emitting from the very frightened cat. "It's alright, Maddie." He said gently, but it did little to calm the white cat.

Vlad sighed angrily at what had just occurred, before standing up and turning the bed intangible and moving it out of the way. He picked up his cat which hissed a couple of times before Vlad's strokes finally assured her that it was safe.

As he walked back to the dinning room, he took in the sight of his half destroyed home that only served to anger him further.

Vlad placed the meowing Maddie on the only chair that had not been reduced to pieces of broken wood. His eyes flashed red as he grabbed what he had come to get.

The man studied the dog toy with disgust. "Foolish little rat." He hissed. "Does he actually think he is going to get away with this?"

The older hybrid did not have a visible ghost sense, but he _did_ have one. It was an inner feeling that he had developed over the years, so much that he could differentiate between signatures and could determine how strong a ghost was by it alone.

Vlad had felt the boy's unique and strong signature the second he stepped into the dinning room. He knew he was there.

Vlad walked off towards his bedroom to shower again. He placed the dog toy on a small table, but that did not mean he had pushed the incident aside. On the contrary, he was currently trying to decide how to punish the over confident younger half ghost and so far nothing sounded better then beating him to a pulp.

* * *

Tucker and Sam stared with raised eyebrows at their smiling male friend as he ate a very greasy burger. Throughout their classes the half ghost kept snickering out of nowhere and Tucker and Sam were sure they had seen his eyes glow green with mischeif a couple of times. 

"Hey Danny?" Sam called carefully.

"Yeah?" he asked with a bright smile.

"Not that it's a bad thing, but why are you so…happy?"

Danny chuckled. "Why wouldn't I be?" he asked, taking another hearty bite of his burger.

"I don't know, dude." Tucker continued, sarcasm edging in his tone of voice. "We just thought that having to stay for a two hour detention on a Friday afternoon, being seen in your pjs and laughed at by half the school, having to walk around the rest of the day with your gym clothes and sneakers, forgetting all your homework at home, and having Lancer phone your folks about how late you were would have some effect on you."

Danny stared amused at his milk, before picking it and drinking it. "_Nothing_ can ruin today." He said with another chuckle.

"Why were you so late, anyways" Sam asked, after Tucker and she shared a bewildered look.

"Cujo woke me up an hour before my alarm went off and chased me around all morning." Danny replied with a small smile.

"Dude, that stinks. Talk about a lousy day." Tucker said sympathetically.

"Are you kidding? Today is one of the best days of my life!" Danny replied.

"Why's that?" Sam asked, confused.

Danny smiled at them with mischief and humor in his eyes, before telling them the details of his busy morning.

Danny laughed heartedly. "And that's not the best part. You'll never believe what he named it!"

Tucker cracked up right along with his male friend. "Dude, if you tell me he named it after your mom, I'll die right here!"

Danny grabbed his side, laughing even harder, while nodding his head. "Man! That's as disturbing as it is funny!" Tucker exclaimed.

"Oh, come on Sam; don't tell me you don't find this remotely funny." Danny said with amusement at seeing the gothic girl looking dryly at both of them.

"I find it hilarious, but I think you forgot what happened the last time you played pranks on Vlad." She replied with a raised eyebrow.

Danny rolled his eyes, although he was still smiling. "I haven't forgotten, Sam; believe me, I'm not trying to start_ that_ again."

"So leading a bi-polar ghost dog to his house and having said dog trash it and almost eat his cat, isn't starting anything?" Sam asked drolly, with crossed arms.

"Jeez Sam, chill out. Danny already said Vlad didn't know he was there." Tucker intervened.

"Besides, I didn't plan for all that to happen." Danny added. "I just had to find a way to get Cujo to stop chasing me; Vlad was the only option left." He said with a smirk.

"The only option and the worst option" Sam pointed out.

Danny shrugged. "Vlad can handle Cujo and I'm sure _Maddie _is just fine." He replied, before Tucker and he broke into laughter once more.

"Yeah, Sam." Tucker agreed. "Plus, imagine if Danny would have tried to sneak into his house as the ghost boy while his parents are home."

Sam's serious look faltered at Tucker's words; she could imagine the outcome of that very clearly. It really was her friend's only solution at the moment…plus the man did deserve it and Danny wasn't caught.

Sam smirked at her two male friends, amusement now gleaming in her amethyst eyes. "I suppose _the mayor_ does need to do his part in keeping the ghost numbers down around here."

The trio laughed at Sam's statement, all worries forgotten.

* * *

Danny tiredly walked up his front door steps. He had canceled all plans with his friends knowing that Mr. Lancer had already phoned his parents by now and he was probably grounded for the weekend. He had run into Skulker right after his two hour detention and without a thermos in hand or his friends (_they_ didn't have detention), it took a lot of fighting to finally get the hunter to call it quits. Ten minutes later Desiree appeared, although he just wished her back into the ghost zone. He was so glad he had figured out an easy way to make her leave a while back. 

Danny frowned, reaching for the front door handle. Now that he thought about it today _had_ been a pretty lousy day…but like he said nothing could ruin today. Not his parents scolding, or being grounded or-

"Hello Daniel"

Danny's eyes went wide at seeing Vlad sitting on the couch with his father, an evil smirk on his lips and a dog toy in one of his hands.

"Okay…maybe _that_ can." He whispered with dread.

* * *

For those who are reading Checkmate, I have not abandoned it...er have not left it. It is still my primary story and I will update it as soon as I can. I'm very sorry for the long wait, but just know it still lives. Also know that this story has nothing to do with that one, in other words it doesn't exist here. I'm not planning on making this story as complexed as I have CM, which is why I'm not getting it beta-ed. So please forgive, any errors that you might come across. Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think. 


	2. Chapter 2: Not knowing when to quit

Reviewers: Thank you. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom

* * *

**Chapter 2: Not knowing when to quit**

"You're grounded, young man and if we hear of you skipping classes like that again, you are losing all privileges around here permanently!" Maddie scolded.

Danny glared at the living room floor, his face tinged red at having his parents lecture him and say everything that Mr. Lancer told them over the phone in front of his arch enemy.

And that "everything" included _everything_.

The fact that he could _feel_ Vlad's enjoyment at being present through all this forced him to use all self restraint to not lunge at the man.

"Danny!"

Danny looked up at his angered father. "Did you hear what your mother said, mister?" Jack asked at not hearing his son respond.

"Yeah, dad." He voiced miserably.

"Now go get cleaned up, dinner's ready." Maddie added, before turning her attention towards Vlad. "I'm sorry you had to witness this Vlad, but I couldn't let this go unattended for even a second." She explained, apologetically.

"There's no need for that Maddie, V-man's family!" Jack intervened, punching Vlad playfully on the shoulder before sitting back down to their game of chess. His anger towards his son was quickly forgotten.

Vlad momentarily glared at his "friend" while rubbing his tender shoulder. "Yes, Maddie. Surprisingly, Jack's right; there is no need for apologies, Daniel is very important to me and I know how crucial it is to teach him boundaries at his current age.

Danny's eyes narrowed from anger and edginess. He had not forgotten what the man had in his hand when he first walked in. He was trying to conclude why Vlad brought that but only one answer seem to fit…and he didn't like it.

"I'll be in my room." Danny voiced, heading towards the stairs.

"Okay, but hurry down and tell Jazz dinner's ready." Maddie said.

"I'll tell her, but I'm not hungry." Danny replied.

"Not hungry? But Vladdie's over and I want him to tell you all about the spooks that destroyed half his house today!" Jack exclaimed.

Danny turned, locking eyes with his arch enemy. "spook-s?" he squeaked out, his eyes giving the dog toy on top of the coffee table a nervous glance.

"Yes, Daniel; spook-s. One of them I have never seen, but the other I could recognize a mile away…we all could, right Jack?"

"Yeah, that ghost kid is going to get it for messing with my pal!" Jack assured

Danny's blood drained. _"He Does know I was there."_

"Are you alright, my boy?" Vlad asked with an innocent smile. "You look a bit on the pale side."

"H-How do you know h-he was there?" he managed to ask.

Vlad laughed heartedly. "I saw him of course! It's not like I have an inner sense to detect him with; I would have to be a ghost or a human with_ ghost_ powers for that!" He replied.

"Ha! That's a good one! You! A ghost!" Jack exclaim, laughing.

"A human with ghost powers! Now that's funny!" Maddie added laughing as well.

Vlad chuckled. "Yes, it's very amusing, isn't it Daniel?"

"Yeah, sure. I'm gonna go get Jazz." Danny said quickly, before racing up the stairs.

The teen groaned softly in annoyance and worry as he made it to his sister's room. He _really _didn't want to get in this kind of battle with Vlad again, but the man was obviously up to something and he was sure that he would find out what by the end of dinner.

"Jazz?" Danny called, knocking on her door.

"Danny!" Jazz cried quietly, opening the door. She eagerly pulled him into her room and shut her door.

"Jazz, I-

"Danny, what's going on? Why is Vlad going off about you since he got here?" Jazz cut off with a frown.

"Going off about _me_?" He repeated, worriedly.

"Well the_ other_ you; he was telling mom and dad something about the ghost boy and his dog wrecking his house and endangering him; Danny you're not pulling pranks on him again, are you? By what you said happened-

"No, Jazz! I'm not!" Danny interrupted. "I-I mean I am kinda responsible for-

Jazz shot him an incredulous look.

"Okay! I'm responsible for what happened today." He corrected with an aggravated look. "But I didn't do it on purpose! I didn't have the thermos, so I thought Vlad could handle Cujo, since he has a portal. I didn't think all_ that_ was going to happen!" he defended

"_All that?_ Didn't his house just get wrecked?" Jazz asked, confused.

Danny's lips spread into a wicked smile. "You'll never believe what I'm about to tell you."

* * *

Danny twitched constantly at having his arch enemy sitting right next to him at the dinning table. He could see Jazz discreetly snicker every-now-and-then at what he told her. They agreed that they would watch Vlad closely although his sister assured him the evil hybrid would not try anything with his parents around… 

Danny jumped at seeing Vlad place the dog toy in between their plates with a bit more force then necessary. The teen glared at him, before taking a drink of his soda. _"He's taunting me" _Danny thought, angrily. _"but I'm not about to sit here and take it."_

"Don't you think it's unsanitary to have _that_ here?" Danny asked, not caring if his parents thought it was a rude remark.

Vlad looked at him innocently, before looking down at the toy. "I apologize. Is it bothering you? Your father is going to test it to see if he can pick up any ghostly residue. I have it here so Jack won't forget." Vlad explained with a small smile.

Maddie laughed. "Jack, forget something ghost related? That would be the day" she added with a teasing wink at her husband.

"Where ever there is anything ghostly. Jack Fenton is there!" he declared in a booming voice.

A forced smile edged Vlad's lips before pushing aside the man's statement. "Hopefully, you will be able to get a lock on their ghostly signatures and destroy them for me, Jack."

Jazz chocked on her drink.

"Don't worry Vladdie, those spooks are getting ripped apart molecule by molecule if I have anything to say about it!" Jack assured, a half chewed piece of chicken still rolling around in his mouth.

A sickened expression passed Vlad's face before turning his eyes to Maddie. "And once that's done, you can dissect their remains; I know you have wanted to do that since college and I'm sure the ghost boy would make a fine specimen." Vlad smirked. "I'll even help you, if you'll let me."

Danny and Jazz were completely mortified with the man's words and the gleam in their parent's eyes.

Danny took a huge gulp of his soda to wash away the queasiness in his stomach, before slamming the cup down. He had enough.

"Did you hear mom? Uncle Vlad got a cat."

Maddie and Jack turned their surprised expressions to their college friend. "Really?" they inquired together.

"Yeah, _really_" Danny replied, before Vlad could. "He told me he felt lonely this one time, so I told him a cat would keep him company. Do you want to know what he called it?" he asked with an innocent smile.

Jazz cringed at seeing the man's eyes flash red, while his brother held their parents attention. _"Ugh, Danny. You're gonna makes things worse."_

"Shucks V-man, if you feel lonely all you need to do is come right over! You're more then welcome here; like I've said you can even stay in Danny's room!"

"Thank you, Jack. I _will_ consider your offer. Vlad guaranteed, before taking on a careless look. "As for the cat, well, I have always found them endearing and thanks to my new occupancy here in Amity Park, I have time for one."

"I say you have time for a lot more." Jazz murmured under her breath.

"You should consider getting your kids a mascot, Jack. It teaches them responsibility and the behavioral differences between animals and humans. A concept that is lost to kids now a days.' Vlad ended with a disappointed shake of his head.

Maddie looked thoughtful. "Danny has always wanted a dog…"

"Nonsense Maddie, Danny doesn't need a dog. He has plenty of responsibilities, like… cleaning the lab! …You did that already, right?" Jack asked, with an expectant frown.

Danny nodded slowly.

"So Vlad what did you name your cat?" Maddie inquired with a smile.

Danny grinned widely. "He named her- ouch!"

The teen rubbed his side where Vlad had shot a small ecto ray from his fingertip.

"Are you okay, Danny?" Maddie questioned with a curious look.

"Yeah mom, I just hit my knee on the table." He replied through clenched teeth.

Jazz frowned, noticing Vlad's left hand was hidden under the table. "So... uncle Vlad, how is your campaign going?" Jazz asked with a nervous smile trying to steer the conversation to safer grounds.

"Oh, Just fine, Jasmine. Thank you for asking. I'm planning on making some big changes around here. This place needs more production and an effective way to deal with those vile ghosts, _especially_ Danny Phantom." He relayed, giving her a wicked smile.

"No." Jazz mouthed to her brother at seeing his eyes flash green.

Maddie frowned. "Danny Phantom certainly is problem around here; he's a very powerful and elusive ghost, we've been after him for some time now." Maddie voiced before taking a bite of her dinner.

"Elusive, yes, but powerful, I don't agree. He's clearly inexperienced and quite pathetic compared to- Ah!"

Danny calmly grabbed a roll from the bread basket in the middle of the table, while Jack and Maddie stared wide eyed at Vlad. All the while Jazz rubbed her temple.

Vlad ripped his eyes away from the teen's hand resting on his own lap, before speaking. "It's hot." he explained, pointing at his food and composing himself.

"Speaking of vile ghosts, what happened to the Wisconsin ghost?" Danny brought up with mocking bewilderment

Jack's eyes filled with anger at his question. "I don't know, but that filthy ghost better keep away from here, because if I find it I'll rip it apart molecule by molecule too."

Danny smiled. "And mom, you can dissect his remains… I'd love to help." Danny said with an evil smirk, before twitching at feeling another ecto-ray hit him on his side. Danny quickly returned it causing the man to stuff a piece of chicken in his mouth to keep himself quiet.

"Oh, well of course you can, sweetie!" Maddie voiced happily at seeing her son actually interested in ghosts.

"Be careful, Daniel. None of us would like to see you get hurt from attempting to engage in dangerous dealings." Vlad cautioned with a serious demeanor.

Danny looked over at his sister, who was taking out her aggravation on her food, before replying with a shrug. "My parents are here, what could possibly happen."

Maddie and Jack smiled at their son's words, feeling overjoyed to know their son felt protected around them.

"Oh, they can not always be around to protect you, my boy, which is why you need to caution yourself at all times."

Danny's teeth clenched at Vlad's constant threats. "Hey, mom?" Danny said with a frown, ignoring the man completely. "Does it smell like wet dog to you in here?"

Jazz's mouth dropped, her fork clattering on her plate at losing her grip on it. _"He did not just say that?" _

"Wet dog?" Maddie asked with a bewildered expression.

"Jack" Vlad said abruptly, getting the man's attention. "I'm going to take you up on your offer for tonight. It's getting late and we still need to examine this object here, besides my house is still undergoing repairs."

"That's great! Vlad my man! Are you going to stay in Danny's room?"

"What? No!" Danny exclaimed, before calming himself at the confused looks he got from his parents. "I-I mean, my room's small. You guys don't want him to be uncomfortable, do you? _Trust me_ Vlad, you'll be more comfortable in _your_ large bedroom." Danny added with a glare.

Vlad chuckled. "_Trust me_, Daniel. I will be fine right here, but I would not want to make you _uncomfortable_." Vlad gave him a mocking sweet smile.

Uncomfortable? Ha! Danny loves you, don't you son?"

Vlad looked at the affronted teenager expectantly.

"Uh-huh" He squeaked before gulping down his half filled cup of soda.

Vlad patted the teen in the back. "I'm touched, dear boy. I love _you_ like a son and I will do_ anything_ to make sure you become a cultured and successful man in the future."

"Dad, don't you think uncle Vlad would be more comfortable in the guest room?" Jazz intervened.

"Of course not!" Jack opposed.

Vlad smiled at the older of the two teenagers at the table. "I have no quarrel in staying with Daniel, but if the guest room is available then I think it would be best."

Jazz and Danny visibly relaxed at the man's words. "Of course it's available and I'm sure you'll be more comfortable there." Maddie said calmly, hiding the fact that she was peeved at having the man spend the night.

"I'm done, mom. Can I be excused?" Jazz asked, giving Danny a meaningful look.

"Me too!" Danny voiced quickly at her look.

"Oh? But you have barely touched your plate, Daniel." Vlad said with a playful smirk.

"I ate a lot at school" Danny almost growled.

"That's fine kids. Danny, remember that you're grounded, which means no electronics or friends" Maddie reminded.

"Yeah, mom; I know." He said, quickly standing up and heading out of the dinning room, with his sister in tow.

"Danny, why did you do that?" Jazz exclaimed, once they were safe in Danny's room.

Danny glared at his sister. "What? You didn't expect me to sit there and take all that, did you?!"

"Actually, yeah I did. It's obvious all he wanted to do was humiliate you, but now you've made things worse!" Jazz reprimanded.

Danny gave her a confused look. "Are you saying what he did back there is all he's going to do?"

"Well that and probably beat you to a pulp when he gets the chance, but yeah. If he wanted to get you back like before he would have already done it…now I'm not so sure." She voiced, plopping down on his bed.

"Oh" Danny said softly, realizing that he just complicated things for himself. He sat on his computer chair with a thoughtful frown.

"Maybe you should tell him it was an accident" Jazz suggested.

Danny gave her a dry look. "Yeah, he wouldn't buy that." She said with a meek grin.

Danny finally shrugged. "You know what? I don't care what he does. I'm just going to ignore him and move on."

"I don't know, Danny, maybe you should at least try to get him to forget whatever he's planning."

Danny rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Fine, I'll talk to him later."

Jazz nodded, before standing up. "I'll be in my room if you need me." She said, leaving his room.

Danny walked over to his bed before lying down on it with an exasperated sigh. "I might as well try to sleep now, since I won't be able to all night." He mumbled with irritation while staring up at the fluorescent stars decorating his ceiling.

With a final groan, he turned to his side to take a small nap.

* * *

Danny woke up with a start. He glanced at his clock and gasped. "What? Its ten!" he whispered in alarm. He looked out his window confirming that it indeed was night time. 

He slowly stood up and walked to his door. Quietly he opened it and peeked out. The lights were off and not a sound could be heard. Danny shut his door again and sighed.

He rubbed his neck, pondering what he should do. "Let's see if Jazz is right." Danny grumbled, before transforming and flying through his ceiling.

He landed on top of the op-center, his eyes momentarily going to the star filled sky.

Danny scanned his surroundings for several minutes, before sitting down on the op-center and crossing his arms in front of his chest. The teen murmured something under his breath in frustration.

Minutes slowly turned into what felt like hours. The teen wasn't too far of, because a good hour had already passed by with no sign of the person he had been expecting to show up.

With an angry growl the half ghost stood up and flew around a while longer. Too bad it did very little to ease his agitation. He was trying to figure out if not having the man attempt to kick his butt was a good thing or a bad thing.

He was sure it was the latter.

Danny hovered with a contemplative frown, before glowering at nothing in particular. The angry sigh he let out showed he was giving up with waiting.

"My, my, you're quite unstable, my boy."

Danny froze at hearing Vlad's teasing voice behind him. He slowly turned, finding Plasmius hovering a few feet from him with crossed arms.

Danny's lips pursed in annoyance. "You've been here this whole time, haven't you?" Danny asked, although it sounded more like a statement.

Vlad shrugged airily with a wry smile.

Silence momentarily wrapped around both, neither making a single movement. Finally Danny had enough. "Look, if you're going to kick my butt can we just get it over with; I want to go to bed."

Vlad's arms slowly lowered to his side, approaching the teen in the same manner. Danny visibly tensed but held his ground despite the fact that the man was inches from his face now.

One of the corners of Vlad's lips curved upward. "Kick your butt? Yes, I could easily do that, couldn't I?"

Danny glared at seeing one of Vlad's hands light with pink energy. "Don't think you'll come out unscathed, Plasmius." Danny threatened.

Vlad's hand extinguish, before raising an eyebrow. "Tell me, Daniel what were you hoping to prove with your actions this morning hmm?" he asked coolly.

Danny's glare fell, remembering what Jazz said. He sighed. "Look, Vlad. I wasn't trying to prove anything and I'm not looking to start trouble with you again." He said with a serious look.

Vlad gave him an unreadable smile. "Ah, well I'm glad to hear it. I do not wish to engage in your previous _childish_ games."

Danny scowled. "If I remember right, you were just fine with them not too long ago."

Vlad shrugged. "Maybe so, but I have to admit and so do you, that it left us both with a bitter taste. For one, this pathetic place you call a home is terribly dull, but as you know I'm obligated to stay here at least for the time being."

Danny rubbed his neck, feeling a bit of relief at the man's words. "So…you're not going to get me back for this morning?"

"No." Vlad said simply with a small smile, before his eyes quickly narrowed. Danny let out a startled squeak as Vlad pulled him close by the collar of his jumpsuit. "But I am going to teach you what happens to children who play with fire." He said darkly.

Danny struggled to pull himself away from him but Plasmius held him tight. "Same thing that happens to fruit loops!" he retorted.

"You should listen to your sister more often you little rat. That mouth of yours is going to be your downfall." Vlad growled.

"You were spying on us?!" Danny asked appalled. The fact that the older hybrid could sense him and he couldn't do the same only made him angrier.

Vlad smirked darkly. "Why does it matter, you obviously do not know the concept of being civilized."

Let go of me, you jerk!" Danny hissed, grabbing Vlad's hands to pry him off.

"And you also don't seem to grasp the concept of respect."

Danny seized his struggle momentarily to look at the man defiantly. "I don't know what your deal is; it's not like you don't have the money to fix your house!"

Vlad gave him a disgusted look. "You do not listen, do you? This is not about my house or the fact that you scared my cat half to death!"

"Oh! So it's about you being angry at me for finding out that you actually took my advice?" He shot back with a clever smirk.

"She's my sister's cat, you arrogant brat!" he yelled.

Danny blinked at him at couple of times before breaking into a fit of laughter. "Dude! That has got to be the worst cover up in history!"

Vlad send an electrical charge through his hold on the teen causing him to scream in pain, but the man placed his other hand over his mouth muffling his cry to avoid waking up the rest of the Fentons. "Jasmine was right; I was going to just beat you to a pulp, but after your little stunt there at the table I see you need to be trained to stay within your _boundaries_." Vlad growled.

"I'm not an animal, you idiot! Save your twisted training for your cat!" Danny yelled in a pained voice, feeling enraged with the man's choice of words.

Vlad blinked at him a couple of times, his tight grip loosening enough to allow the teen to finally free himself. "No, you're not." He replied in a strange tone.

Danny glared. "Yeah well- what?" he asked, finally processing his comeback.

Danny became uneasy at the evil, but playful smile that spread on the man's lips. "But you act like it, little badger."

Danny's eyebrows scrunched with confusion. He was sure that was an insult, but the man didn't make it _sound_ like one. "Better then acting like a crazed up fruit loop" he retorted, although it didn't sound as witty as it normally did.

Vlad acted like he had not heard the teen's insult and gingerly pulled out Cujo's toy from a pocket inside his jumpsuit. "Make sure the owner of this gets this back, would you?" he asked with a calm smile, tossing the toy at the teen.

Danny caught it; he's eyes filled with confusion at seeing the man fly away from him. "Wait… aren't you gonna…"

"What? Kick your butt, as you so elegantly put it?" Plasmius asked with a smirk, halting his flight.

Vlad chuckled at the teen's lack of response. "I said I could, I never said I would." He shot with a wicked grin. "Good night, dear boy." He said before flying back to the Fenton home.

Danny looked down at the toy in his hand, confusion still on his expression. "Uh, what just happened?"

Danny sighed, feeling very tired after all that. With a frown set on his face he flew back to his room to attempt to fall asleep once more.

* * *

Vlad sat on a desk chair, crossed legged. His elbows rested on the chairs armrests and the fingertips of his hands tapped on each other in a contemplative manner. The fact that it was almost two in the morning didn't seem to faze him. The half ghost knew full well what he wanted to do and the more he thought about it the more certain he was that it was the best way to teach the younger half ghost why any being thinks twice before crossing him. His current dilemma was how to go about it. How could he do such a thing? He was certain he could design the necessary instrument, but that would take too long and require a lot of work. 

No, he needed something quick and effective.

A crafty grin grew on his features.

"But of course!" he whispered excitedly. "Why didn't I think of that sooner? After all that is where I go to deal with most of my needs."

Vlad stood in a flash and with another changed into Plasmius. He floated invisibly out of the guest room and headed to the other room next to it.

He smiled wickedly at the sleeping boy, who still had his day clothes and sneakers on; the lamp on his desk was still on as well.

Vlad floated closer to the teen, before carefully removing the teen's shoes and covering him up with his blanket, the smile on his face never leaving. _"Like I told you, my boy, I will do _anything_ to make sure you grow to be a cultured and successful man." _

With a gentle pat on the teen's head, he moved away and turned off the lamp before exiting and heading down the stairs.

* * *

I was going to post this later, but your reviews and the fact that I'm going to be busy all of this coming week made me decide to post it now. I have two test and all this physics HW do do!! -sigh- Well, let me know what you think! Your comments are very much appriciated!

Next Review for this story: Next weekend most likely

Next Review for Checkmate: Not sure...I have to finish fixing a few more things and get it beta-ed. Please be patient, but it won't take nowhere near as long as last time.

That is all my friends, Ta!


	3. Chapter 3: So you have Wished it

**Chapter 3: So you have wished it, so shall it be **

Desiree woke at hearing a loud knock on her door. "What on earth?' she mumbled. Her sleepwear changed into her usual clothing as she left her bedroom and headed towards her door. With an annoyed and tired expression she opened the door.

"Good evening, Desiree" Plasmius greeted with a charming smile.

Surprise momentarily passed the ghost genie's expression before her eyes narrowed. "_Good_ _evening_? It's three in the morning!"

Vlad frowned. "Really? Hmm, well that's a relief; for a moment I thought it was pass visiting hours" he replied.

Desiree gave him an unimpressed look at the clever smirk on his face. "If I was not as tired as I am, I would turn you into a worm for that." She attempted to slam the door in the man's face, but Vlad held it open.

"Oh! So you can do such things! How wonderful!" he said with a bright smile.

Desiree rubbed her temple before looking back at Plasmius. "Are you lost or something? What do you want?"

"Lost?" Vlad laughed loudly. "No, not at all; I'm exactly where I want to be and what I _want_ is the same as what you want." He assured.

Desiree raised an eyebrow, although her expression clearly showed irritation and boredom. "Look…"

"Vlad Masters, Vlad Plasmius; whichever you please." The half ghost provided with another charming smile.

"Right." She brushed off. "I highly doubt what I want is what _you_ want." She replied while sizing him up with revulsion.

"Oh, but it is." He assured once more. "I'm well aware of your _talents_, Desiree; that is why I'm here."

Realization dawned on the wish-granting ghost and she rolled her eyes. "I see. You require my help, is that it? You think you can buy me as you have others? Well let me tell you something, _freak_. I do not care how much money, power, or fame you hold. I work for no man, especially one as egotistical as you. Good night!" she said angrily, trying to slam the door again.

Vlad momentarily frowned at her insult. No one had ever called him that, and it irked him at the very least. Still, he pushed it aside and prevented her from closing her door. "Oh come now, I have not said anything of the sort. I can assure you that what I have come for is of great interest to you."

Desiree glared while trying to determine if she should destroy him or soothe her curiosity at his words. "What is it that you desire, exactly?" she snapped.

"In short?" Vlad voiced causally, before it turned dark. "Danny Phantom, broken, humiliated, and at my feet…_and yours_…if you _wish_ it." He added with a dark smirk and a raised eyebrow.

Desiree crossed her arms and studied the man's expression for a moment. Finally she moved away from the door and gestured Vlad in.

Vlad gave her a calm smile and floated inside the ghost's domain. "My, you have a lovely place." He complemented as his eyes wondered around the Arabian styled home.

"You have my attention, ghost man. Talk, before you lose it." She snapped.

Vlad turned to her with a frown. "Its _Vlad_" he corrected, clearly annoyed.

Desiree gave him an uncaring look, causing the hybrid to roll his eyes. "I want you to grant me a wish." He said, all smugness gone from his expression.

"Yes I deduced that. What I want to know is why I should?" she raised, crossing her arms and mimicking the man's serious demeanor.

"I thought I just explained, _why_." Vlad retorted with some aggravation. "Danny Phantom is a thorn in _both_ our sides and I need your _assistance _to knock his stamina for a loop."

A distant and dark look replaced her irritation. "I can not deny that. His cockiness is insufferable." Desiree turned her eyes back to Vlad. "Is that a common trait in freaks?" She asked with a raised eyebrow

"Do not overestimate my patience, _my dear_" Vlad responded calmly, yet his eyes showed threat.

Desiree's eyes narrowed more at the pet name then the threat. "Then, do not overestimate mine."

Vlad pinched the bridge of his nose, before turning his eyes to the ghost once more. "Can you grant the wish or not?" he asked frustrated.

Desiree moved away from him and sat on a purple couch. "Yes, but how I grant it depends on what exactly it is that you desire."

"Continue" Vlad requested, crossing his arms.

Desiree sighed with annoyance. "Since your wish is clearly regarding the ghost boy, you have to be aware that _anyone_ could simply un-wish it, so I doubt whatever you plan on doing will work."

"Yes, you are obligated to grant any wish you hear, but if I _heard_ correctly and I _know_ I have this only holds true when you are in the human world." Vlad retorted airily. "It_ will _work if you grant it here." He ended with a smile.

Desiree's right eyebrow heightened. The man wasn't kidding when he said he was aware of her "talents." Not many knew she was only forced to grant wishes outside the Ghost Zone. A small impressed smirk edged her lip. Now she understood why the half ghost had not simply stated his wish. He knew she didn't have to grant it here. Dismissing her thoughts she responded. "Yes, I _could _grant your wish here. My spell binding in the Ghost Zone is stronger and binding. Only the person who has wished the wish can un-wish it." She frowned at her word usage, before dismissing it.

"But you will not?" Vlad asked, catching her emphasis at the beginning.

"No, I will not because it takes too much energy. I only gain power from granting wishes outside the Ghost Zone. Granting wishes against others takes a lot of energy to do and I will not spare it."

"Oh, I'm sure there must be some way." He coaxed. "Think about it Desiree; if you do this the boy will be out of your hair. You can easily go to the human world and regain that power. Not to mention you would have revenge on the person who has degraded you time and time again….Wasn't it just yesterday he forced you back into the Ghost Zone?" Vlad asked with a teasing smile.

Desiree shot him a glare, but remained silent as she contemplated his words. Finally an evil smile spread on her lips. "Maybe it can be spared." She voiced, standing up.

Vlad returned the grin. "Wonderful"

Desiree extended a hand at the man causing him to hitch an eyebrow. "You will grant your wish now, in the Ghost Zone, but I must be close to him to carry it out. I need your hand to bind the wish to you when I grant it."

"I will be the only one who will be able to un-do it, correct?" he asked looking at her extended hand warily.

"Correct." She added calmly.

Vlad hesitated for a moment longer before extending his hand. With an evil smile the ghost genie seized it in hers. "Now, what is your wish?"

* * *

Danny woke up to the smells of eggs, bacon and coffee. He yawned as he walked out of his room and towards the bathroom to do his morning regimen. 

Even after his quick shower the teen felt exhausted. "I'm going back to bed after breakfast…it's not like I have anything better to do." He added the last part bitterly at remembering he was grounded for the weekend.

He sluggishly entered the kitchen and sat down at the table. "Morning mom, dad, Jazz, Vlad…Vlad?!" he exclaimed, all tiredness in his voice and expression gone as he glared at his arch enemy.

"Good Morning to you too, Daniel." Vlad said in a perky voice.

"Morning there, son!" Jack beamed

Danny gave his dad a small smile before leaning across his sister to address the man sitting beside her. "Why are you still here?" Danny growled under his breath to avoid getting his parents' attention.

"Morning sweetie, here you go." Maddie said as she placed the teen's breakfast in front of him.

"Uh, thanks mom." Danny said with a nervous grin, before turning his eyes back to Vlad.

Vlad smirked leaning a bit closer to Jazz so Danny could hear him. "Same thing as you, my boy; I'm eating breakfast." He whispered. "Maddie is such a marvelous cook."

Danny leaned further on Jazz. "Leave" he hissed.

"Uh…space, please." Jazz squeaked out.

Vlad chuckled once he made sure Jack's eyes were still to the ghost instrument in his hands and Maddie was occupied in the kitchen. "Do you expect me to actually listen to you?" he asked airily, showing he felt unfazed by his threatening glare.

"Yes I do, because if you don't I'll _make_ you." Danny snapped, willing green energy into his hand and aiming it at Vlad.

"Danny, that's hot!" Jazz whispered urgently at having his lit hand above her lap to keep it out of their parents' line of sight. Danny called off his energy but his angered expression remained.

Vlad smiled. "Do you see, Jasmine? That is why your brother needs my guidance, he is clearly lacking in manners and balance; things I will gladly teach him."

Jazz groaned in heavy annoyance. She truly wished she had her brother's intangibility power at the moment. Having Vlad in her personal space and having Danny leaning over her was making her feel like the salami in a sandwich.

"Only after I teach_ you_ to get a life! I'm so sick of you having nothing better to do then hit on my mom, insult my dad, and attempt to teach me _lessons_! Why don't you go home to your cat, Plasmius?!" Danny spat out, he's eyes bright green.

Vlad's eyes flashed red. With his right hand he grabbed Danny by his shirt and pulled him closer. Jazz squeaked in alarm as her remaining personal space vanished. "Why you insolent rat! I'm going to teach you to hold your tongue in front of me if it's the last thing I do!"

"Let him go, Vlad!" Jazz demanded at seeing the man's left hand glow with ecto-energy.

"A-HA! Jack boomed, raising the device in his hand in triumph

In a flash Danny and Vlad moved back to their own space and picked up their forks to eat.

Jack gave Jazz a quizzical look. "You look awful, Jazzy-pants. Are you coming down with something?"

"I'm fine, dad" she responded, irritably as she straightened out her wrinkled clothes.

Vlad raised an eyebrow at seeing the instrument in Jack's hand begin to beep. "What is that, Jack?" Vlad asked, genuinely interested.

"This V-man is the Fenton Boove No More! It temporarily immobilizes ghosts!" he exclaimed excitedly.

Vlad's eyes momentarily went to Maddie at seeing her place an extra plate full of eggs and bacon in the middle of the table. "A paralysis inducing weapon; that's interesting"

"No, Vladdie, an immobilizing weapon. You know as in they can't move." Jack explained, trading his empty plate for the full one in the middle of the table.

"It's the same thing, dear." Maddie said with a gentle smile, sitting down with her own plate to join the four people at the table.

Yes, Jack it is." Vlad agreed, rubbing his temple. "Does it w-

Vlad didn't finish his question at hearing Danny cough loudly. "Are you okay, sweetie?" Maddie asked with a frown.

"Yeah, I'm good." He said with a meek smile, before giving Vlad a quick glare.

Vlad frowned at seeing a compartment at the top of the gun open and a little radar come out. "Two ghosts detected."

In an instant Vlad and Danny stood.

"I'm done!" Danny announced a little louder then normal

"Jack, we should get going." Vlad added after Danny.

Danny gave Vlad an alarmed look at his words. "What? Where are you going?"

"I'm leaving, my boy…with your father." He added with a calm smile although his eyes danced with wickedness.

Jack placed the gun down before gobbling the rest of his breakfast and standing up. "Isn't it great, son? Me and Vladdie are going to hang out all day like we use to!" Jack beamed. He gave Maddie a quick peck goodbye that displeased Vlad very much. "See ya later, son." Jack said, ruffling his son's hair.

At seeing Vlad and Jack exit the kitchen, Danny panicked. "Wait!" he yelled, grabbing his father's arm when he reached him.

"What's wrong, son?" Jack asked with a frown.

"Yes, Daniel, what is wrong?" Vlad pressed, mocking concern.

"I, uh…. want to go!" Danny exclaimed.

"Now Danny, you're grounded, you know that." Jack reminded in a strict tone.

"Please, dad! Y-You can ground me all week- all month! Just let me go with you today!" He pleaded.

"I don't know" Jack said rubbing his neck and momentarily looking at Vlad. "V-man insisted it just be the two of us."

"Vlad" Danny called, turning his eyes to the smirking man. "Let me go with you and dad." he asked unable to hide his nervousness.

"Hmm…I don't know, Daniel. I do not want to interfere in your discipline…"

"_Please_, uncle Vlad." Danny asked nicely, although his green eyes showed how angry he was.

"Well, since you are such a gentleman about it, then of course you-

"Can not go!" Maddie finished as she walked up to Danny with Jazz right behind her. "Young man, you are grounded!" Maddie scolded with a hand on her hip.

"Oh, shucks Maddie; we can let him off just for today. We can have a guys' day out!" Jack proposed with a thrilled smile

Maddie crossed her arms. "I'm sorry, Jack, but it will have to be another day. What Danny did is serious, you know that."

"But Maddie…"

Danny turned his attention back to Vlad at seeing his parents talking to each other. "Look I get it, alright? You've proven your point! So just stop, Vlad! Don't bring my dad into this!" Danny whispered, heatedly.

Vlad kneeled down to Danny's eye level. "Oh? You sound frightened, my boy" Vlad teased.

Danny's glare fell. "What do you want me to say for you stop whatever you're planning?" Danny asked with a serious expression.

Vlad smiled amused. "What _can_ you say?" he challenged.

"That…you win, that I'm sorry, that you're better then me, I don't know!" He replied, miserably.

Vlad patted the teen on the head. "Those are lovely words, dear boy, but like I said last night, I am not out to get even with you."

Danny's eyes narrowed once more. "Yeah, you want to teach me a lesson. Well lesson learned, now enough of this!"

Vlad studied the teen's angry eyes for a moment before speaking. "No…lesson is not learned." He smiled, before standing up and addressing Jack. "It's getting late, Jack. Is Daniel coming?"

Jack gave his wife a pout, before turning to Vlad. "No." he voiced.

Danny's eyes darted while he frantically tried to think of something. He couldn't let his dad leave with his arch enemy! "Dad, can't you guys just stay here?" Danny asked; grabbing his father's arm once more as Vlad opened the door.

Jack rubbed his neck "Well…"

"I'm sorry Daniel, but I already scheduled several activities for us today and it would be a shame to let it all go to waste. Besides I have to get home to my cat, remember?" he added with a raised eyebrow.

Danny looked at the man in disbelief. He couldn't believe how bad he could hold a grudge. _"Never mind, he's had one for my dad for over twenty years now." _He thought with a frown

"Can Jazz go then?" Danny pressed with a bright but anxious smile. "She really wants to go, right Jazz?" Danny asked, giving her a meaningful look.

"Sure, I'll go" she said portraying a calm smile.

Maddie frowned. "Jazz, I thought you wanted to go to the spa today."

"Well, yeah… but we can always go some other day, mom." She suggested with a meek smile.

"But Jazz, I scheduled this two weeks ago." She said with a hurt look.

"I think you should go with your mother, princess. You don't want to go with Vladdie and me. We'll be doing guys stuff! You know, watching games, eating, burping!"

Vlad gave him a disgusted look, before smiling at the teenage girl. "Yes, best stay with your mother, Jasmine. Rest assured, there is not much _you_ can do. Our activities are not suitable for a young lady."

Jazz glared at his hidden words, but said nothing

"Nothing,_ too_ unsuitable, I hope." Maddie stated with a frown

Vlad laughed full heartedly. "Of course not, my dear. We will be at my house all day; catching up on old times!"

Vlad gasped as Jack grabbed him into a bone crushing hug. "V-man, you are the best chum a guy could have!" Jack beamed, sniffling a bit once he released him.

"Likewise" Vlad rasped out in a pained voice. "We must go. Ta! Maddie, Jasmine…Daniel."

"Dad!" Danny called pleadingly.

"Don't worry son. Tomorrow you and me will sit in front of the couch all day and eat fudge!" he assured, squeezing his shoulder before exiting.

Danny stared at the close door with worry and uncertainty, before he suddenly turned and raced up the stairs.

"Dan-"

"SLAM!"

Maddie sighed. "He really wanted to go." She voiced, feeling a bit guilty.

I'll go talk to him." Jazz replied and walked up the stairs.

Maddie gave the stairs a sad look. With another sigh she headed towards the kitchen to clean up.

* * *

"Danny, wait!" Jazz exclaimed at seeing her brother already in ghost form. 

Jazz cringed as he turned around and looked at her furiously. "Wait?! For what?! I'm not leaving dad alone with _him_!"

"Danny, you can't leave! If mom finds out you did, you're going to be in big trouble!" Jazz reasoned.

"Jazz" Danny said, grabbing his sister's shoulders firmly. "I can't leave them alone. This is Vlad we're talking about; you know, the guy that wants to waste dad!"

Jazz bit her lower lip anxiously "Danny, do you really think-"

"I don't know" he cut off, releasing his hold on her. "But I can't risk it; if something happens to dad, it'll be all my fault." He said fearfully.

"Look, calm down, okay?" she coaxed with a reassuring smile. "Let me get mom out of here and then you can go after them, but take your cell phone and call me if _anything_ happens, okay?" she asked worriedly.

Danny nodded and smiled. "Alright"

Jazz smiled as well, before heading towards the door. "Be careful, Danny." She added, before closing the door behind her.

* * *

Danny flew at top speed towards Vlad's mansion. Jazz had pushed their mother out of the house in ten minutes, but in ten minutes a lot could happen and that had him over the edge. 

He turned invisible and landed in the same dinning room as yesterday morning. _"Wow, he actually got everything fixed in a day."_ He couldn't help but notice as he floated down a hall. He knew Vlad would detect him, but he didn't care. He just wanted to stay close to his father incase his "friend" decided to try anything against him…if he hadn't already.

Danny shook his head to dismiss the thought. His heart was pounding in his chest at how quiet it was. His instincts screamed something was wrong, but despite that he continued forward. Danny finally heard something and followed the sound. He floated into a well-furnished living room and noticed another door. He knew it was the theater room from the large amount of noise coming from it.

"_They really are watching a game"_ Danny thought quizzically.

"Do you want to know the disadvantage of guarding someone else's back?"

Danny whirled around finding Plasmius behind him with an evil smile.

"You can not guard your own." Vlad finished, blasting the teen into a couch. "well, _you _can't" he added with a chuckle

"Plasmius" Danny growled, pulling himself back to his feet. "Where's my dad?!"

"Watching a Packers' game with me in the next room, dear boy." He replied with a smirk and gestured to the door behind him.

Danny scowled, realizing the man had split his form. Masters was inside watching TV with his dad and Plasmius was here kicking his butt. "I invited a close friend of yours."

Danny gasped as his ghost sense went off. "Friend? You have an odd sense of humor." Desiree remarked, dryly as she materialized in the room next to Vlad.

Danny's confused eyes darted from one ghost to the other. "I-I don't understand."

"When do you ever?" Vlad retorted with a condescending expression.

Desiree smirked evilly. "You know, ghost boy, I would hate to have _him_ as an enemy, but I would hate more to have _me_ as an enemy" she said darkly before shooting a green beam at the unprepared teen.

Danny gasped at feeling the beam penetrate him instead of hurt him.

Danny stared at Desiree with fearful eyes as he quickly began to feel strange. "W-What did you do?"

Desiree laughed. "What I always do, _grant wishes_." She said wickedly "_His_ to be exact" she added, gesturing to Plasmius.

Danny wobbled backwards, before leaning on the door behind him where his dad was. He breathed heavily while his vision spun.

Vlad observed the glowing green teen. "How long will this take?"

"Not long. This form of spell binding takes a little longer, but at the most a few minutes." Desiree said off-handedly. She smiled coldly at the abnormally pale teen. "Do not worry; you'll probably pass out before the worst of it happens." She laughed evilly and vanished.

Danny felt himself lose grip of his ghost side. The human teen clutched his chest at feeling his lungs constrict…he felt like he was dying. Danny looked at Vlad with scared eyes, before panic flooded them. He forced his heavy and numb body to turn and grab the door handle. "Dad!" he tried to yell, but his voice was barely above a whisper.

"Now, Now" Vlad said, quickly grabbing the teen away from the door. Danny attempted to escape his hold, but he barely had the strength to turn the door handle in the first place. "It's rude to interrupt adults, Daniel. That is one of things I'm going to teach you, my boy."

Danny felt the strength in his legs leave him but the hold the man had on his upper arms, prevented him from falling to the floor. "What…did…you….wish…for?" Danny asked through his labored breathing.

Vlad let go of the teen's arms, causing him to fall on his hands and knees in front of the older half ghost's feet. With an evil smile he kneeled next to the teen who was now breathing in short gasps. He grabbed the teen's chin, ignoring how clammy and cold he was, before locking eyes with him. "I wished you sweet dreams, _my_ _little badger_." He cooed evilly.

Danny's puzzled and frightened eyes gazed into the man's for a moment more before they closed and he collapsed on the ground completely.

* * *

-Bangs head repeatedly on computer- I am sooo displeased with this chapter. I have not seen an episode with Desiree in months. I could not recall her personality to save my life. if anyone wants to refresh me please do; it's not the last we will see of her...hopefully I'll catch a DP epi with her before she shows up again in the show...anyways...I suppose this chapter wasn't very funny, huh? sorry, I'm not very good with humor, but the next one should be full of it...yeah. Just keep in mind there will be drama as well. Let's see...what else did I want to yap about... ah, I have decided to attempt to update this story every saturday, so you can expect its updates then. I think I can do it. Yes, it's Sunday, but I did try to post this yesturday, but I'm sure many of you noticed FF was down, so I can't be blamed. Well that's all, please forgive my grammer errors, but feel free to point it out! Reviews are appriciated! 


	4. Chapter 4: Blue eyed Badger

**Chapter 4: Blue eyed Badger**

The first thing Danny noticed when he began to drift into consciousness was how weightless he felt. He wondered if he was a ghost since such sensations were common to him in that form, but didn't he pass out? He couldn't be in ghost form.

The teenager's heavy eyes slowly opened. At first everything was an undecipherable blur, but with a couple of more blinks he saw his surroundings come into focus. Before he could ponder on them a voice distracted him.

"Daniel?"

Danny slowly looked up towards the voice. As he met Vlad's dull blue eyes, everything that had to do with the man flashed in front of him like a movie. He shook his head from the headache the odd event brought upon him.

"Oh, good; you can understand me." He heard Vlad remark in an amused tone.

Danny forced himself off his side and to a standing position at remembering what had occurred. He stood only to lose his balance and fall back down on his hands. He tried a few more times, but the result was the same in every attempt.

Danny's attention went to his laughing arch enemy and finally noticed the man looked bigger then he was...actually everything looked bigger. _"What the heck's going on and… what is this place?_" He thought, noticing he was trapped in a clear and rectangular enclosure.

"Daniel, you should stop; I highly doubt you can stand anymore." Vlad told him, once he managed to stop laughing.

The younger half ghost gave him a confused look at his words, not realizing that he had actually tilted his head as a result.

Danny tensed as Vlad leaned over the enclosure and studied him. "Hmm…I see you still have blue eyes."

Danny glared at him. "What the heck are you talking about and where am I?" he growled out…literally.

The teen's eyes widen at hearing himself growl instead of speak. Danny shifted his gaze back to Vlad at hearing him chuckle. "What's wrong, little badger? Can't talk?" he asked with a wide grin.

Danny attempted to say something but as before he didn't hear his voice. This time he heard a soft chitter emit from his vocal cords.

Vlad laughed full heartedly. "That's just adorable!" he exclaimed.

Danny tried to wrap his hand around his throat but he couldn't! A soft, distressed noise came from him as he looked at his hand, only it wasn't a hand but a paw. It was a small, furry paw with very long and sharp claws. Suddenly all his senses exploded to life.

The teen's gaze slowly traveled down his furry body and to his long, bushy tail. He could feel small ears twitching on his head and the fangs inside his mouth. His cold, pink nose could smell everything around him with frightening precision. He stared up at the older half ghost with broad, frightened eyes. It wasn't that his arch enemy got larger it was he that got smaller!

Danny breathing quickly sped up as everything he discovered sank in. His response, of course, was the same as any person's would be at discovering they had been turned into an animal.

Vlad cringed as a high pitched wail left the boy turned animal while he frantically tried to stand.

"_I'm an animal!!! Why am I an animal?! I have paws and a tail! Why do I have paws and a tail? I never had those before!! I'm dreaming; I have to be! There's no way this freaky thing is real! Wake up, Fenton! Wake up!"_ Danny "yelled" in panic as he banged his head on the glass. All the while his mind completely forgot Vlad was present. At finally realizing he wasn't dreaming, it became too much and he passed out.

Vlad raised an eyebrow as Danny's frighten cry and panicked actions ceased. He stared calmly at the unconscious teen for a moment before an amused smile slowly spread on his lips. "Hmm, I think he took that rather well."

Vlad's gaze moved to the grandfather clock in his lounge and noticed it was 6:05 pm. The teen had been out cold since morning when he had set the trap for him. He knew the young half ghost would never leave his father alone with him and that was the prefect lure to get the teen alone in his house.

After he passed out the strangest thing happened. The glowing green teen just vanished, leaving only his clothing behind. Vlad couldn't help but gasp then but before he could panic he noticed a small breathing lump within the teen's shirt. Of course, the man visibly relaxed at seeing his wish had worked. The teenage boy was now a teenage badger. He picked him up and placed him in a glass enclosure he had bought.

After reassuring himself that Danny was alive and "well" he left him alone and decided to give him a closer inspection once he woke up.

Vlad never thought his day could drag any slower. One, he was having a very difficult time restraining himself from choking the life out of Jack and two, the teen wouldn't wake up. His day was so slow in fact that he was sure he could remember the exact time for every single thing he did through the day. Finally around five he couldn't take Jack's presence anymore. His booming and annoying voice had his head close to exploding. He _had_ to make him leave because he was sure if didn't he would do something that was not part of his plans at the moment. So with the quick excuse of not feeling well- which was not a lie- he bid his friend good-bye.

Vlad quickly decided not to contemplate on his torturous day any longer. Just _knowing_ he spent a full day with Jack was resurfacing his headache. He looked back at the sleeping badger for a moment before carefully picking him up. He had not gotten a chance to study the teen's appearance yet which was why he now observed him in the same curious manner that a five year old observes the first bug or toad they encounter.

"You're quite small for a badger …but then again you're quite small for a teenage boy." He remarked with a chuckle. The boy turned badger could not weigh more then six pounds and his small, elongated body was about 12 to 14 inches. His bushy tail could add a good 3 to 4 inches to that.

"_He's definitely smaller then Maddie"_ Vlad thought, before his attention went to the teen's visual appearance. The thick coat on his body was mostly a dark grey, but it lighted significantly on his belly. A very unique feature on Danny was a thick white strip that began on the top of his head (in between his small, pink ears) and ended at the base of his tail. His facial features were also unique. He had a fine, pointed facial structure. Although white fur dominated his face it was his black markings that distinguished him. Danny had a thin ring around his muzzle, right above his pink nose. He contained a thicker band that started on his forehead and extended behind his ears. A line connected said band to the black rings around his eyes. The last black marking on his face was a small spot on each cheek.

Vlad eyebrows heightened as he inspected the teen's broad and pink paws that were equipped with long, strong claws. If that wasn't impressive the size of the teen's fangs was.

Vlad smirked; except for the teen's blue eyes the boy looked just like a genuine small badger. Vlad grabbed Danny's muzzle and lifted it up. "Wake up, Daniel." he said, tapping him on the nose. Vlad frowned at not getting a response. He tried once more with just a bit more force but he still remained unconscious. The half ghost let out an irritated sigh before an idea struck him and he smiled wickedly.

He walked out of his lounge and towards his kitchen with Danny in his hands. Without a second thought Vlad placed him in the kitchen sink and turned on the facet.

A startled yelp left the teen as the cold water jerked him awake. "Sorry, my boy…my badger." He corrected with a chuckle. "but you've been asleep all day. It's time to wake up." He informed him, closing the facet once more.

Danny shivered from how cold and scared he was. _"A badger; he turned me into a badger."_ He thought before glaring at the man or at least he thought he did. In reality the teen's ears lowered in aggression and he bared his teeth. _"Why you twisted jerk! What did you do to me? Change me back right now, Plasmius!"_

Vlad gave Danny an amused look. The growl emitting from the teen sounded more distressed then angry. "I don't know how to tell you this, Daniel, but you actually look more intimidating now then you ever have before."

Danny didn't know what else to do but "glare" at the man. He couldn't talk so insults were pointless and he doubted he could fight Vlad since at the moment he felt smaller then the man's cat.

Vlad finally noticed Danny was shaking and frowned. "I suppose there were other ways of waking you." He shrugged. "Oh well; it's nothing a bit of intangibility can not fix."

Danny backed up in alarm at seeing Vlad intended on grabbing him. _"Stay back!"_

He warned as his fur hitched and he pressed himself as close to the opposite side of the sink as possible.

Vlad's eyebrows knitted together for a moment, but then he smiled again. "I'm just going to take you back to your cage. Do you want to stay in there and catch a cold?"

"_I'll take my chances!"_ Danny "replied"

Vlad rolled his eyes at seeing the teen not drop his aggressive posture. "It doesn't matter what you want; you're going back."

Vlad grabbed the teen around the belly causing him to wail in protest. _"Hey! Let go!"_ Danny desperately tried to wiggle out of the man's hold, but the slick surface he was on did nothing to aid him. At feeling his body being lifted he did the only thing he _could_ do to defend himself. He bit him. Hard.

"Ah!" Vlad yelled, instantly letting go of the teen.

"_Oh, gross!"_ Danny exclaimed as he licked his paw in an attempt to clean his tongue.

Vlad stared back at the teen in disbelief. "You-You bit me!" he exclaimed while cradling his right hand.

Danny hissed at him. _"Yeah and if I'm lucky you'll get rabies!" _

The older hybrid pushed away his shock and narrowed his eyes at the teen. Danny yelped in alarm as Vlad made a grab for him. He quickly jumped out of the sink and avoided capture, but he wasn't quick enough to escape the man's second attempt.

Danny cried in protest as the man pinned his head to the counter. _"Ah! Let me go! Isn't this considered animal abuse?!" _

Vlad lifted the teen up to his eye level by the scuff of his neck. Oddly, Danny couldn't struggle any longer from the man's actions. His body just limped as wave of tranquility that washed over him. _"What did you do?" _Danny "asked" serenely.

"If you ever bite me again I'll make you wear a muzzle, Daniel!" Vlad threatened, before turning Danny intangible to slide the water off him.

Vlad made his way back to the lounge. _"I wonder if I could get rabies from this"_ he pondered somewhat worried. He looked at Danny at hearing him chirping and realized the teen was staring at him. "Oh, you want to know why you can't move" Vlad concluded. "Well, if you bothered to pay attention in biology you would know that many land mammals transport their young by holding them around their necks. It has been proven that the action releases a chemical in the young's brain that relaxes it so their mother can safely move them…its nice to see it works on you too, little badger." He mocked.

Danny sighed. _"This is so wrong."_ He thought calmly although he was sure he was supposed to feel angry.

Vlad let go of the teen once he placed him back in the glass cage. Danny didn't move for a moment from still feeling oddly relaxed.

He slowly looked up at the man finding that he was smirking at him. "Are you hungry, Daniel?"

Danny glowered at him. _"You're not going to get away with this, Vlad. My parents are going to find out I'm missing and Jazz knows I came here!"_

Vlad smiled at the hissing Danny. "Is that a yes?" he asked flicking his ear.

With a snarl Danny snapped at the man's hand. Vlad chuckled as he turned his hand intangible, causing the teen to miss. "That temper of yours has not changed one bit."

"_You wait, when I get out of this; I'm going to show you temper!"_ Danny threatened.

"Ring!"

Vlad frowned at hearing a phone ring, but by the ring tone he knew it wasn't his. Vlad looked back at the teen who was no longer growling at hearing the phone himself.

A playful smile crept on his face before heading to the opposite side of the lounge and pulling out a drawer.

Danny stood on his hind paws by supporting his front ones on the glass. Danny hissed at seeing Vlad pull out his cell phone from his pants.

"So you told your sister you were coming over… hmm?" he questioned. Amusement portrayed his expression as he read "Jazz" on the caller ID. "Not that it's of any surprise to me."

The man walked back with the ringing phone and dangled it above the teen. "Did you want to talk to her? I'll let you." he teased.

Danny's ears lowered, a sad chitter leaving his throat. _"You can't keep me like this; everyone's going to get worried when they realize I'm missing."_

Vlad flipped the phone and pressed the shut down button. "Let's keep her worried." He said wickedly. "I'll be back, my little badger; I'm going to get you something to eat." The man informed, placing the teen's cell in his jacket pocket

Danny watched his arch enemy walk off, before looking at himself. _"I can't believe he turned me into a stinkin badger!"_ he whined. _"I mean, what kind of nut wishes to….oh, That type of nut."_ He corrected himself angrily.

Danny sighed, before looking around. His holding pen made him feel like he was in a fish tank and the only opening was the top. Danny scowled at the pine shedding on the ground and at a small hammock on the opposite corner of his glass prison. He walked up to it and looked up. He had to find a way to escape and get to his sister and friends. They could find Desiree and wish him human again.

Danny jumped up on hammock and tried to leap up to the top of the enclosure, but it was too high and his claws had nothing to grab a hold of to climb up the glass wall. _"Now I see why he put me in a fish tank; I can't get out."_ He thought miserably

* * *

Jazz put down the book in her hand and looked at the clock again. It was almost 6pm and her dad and brother were not back. To say Jazz enjoyed the time at the spa would be a lie. She thought about her brother the whole time she was there. It was hard to restrain herself from calling him. Danny told her he would call if anything happened and the last thing she wanted to do was risk getting him discovered from his cell going of. 

When they got back her heart sank at seeing that her dad and brother were still not back from Vlad's. It took some serious work to prevent Maddie from checking up on Danny when they got home at 5pm. Jazz knew how much Danny meant to her mom. He was her baby and knowing she left him alone and upset at home didn't allow her to enjoy their outing. Jazz literally blocked Danny's door from her mother and quickly explained that he wanted to be alone. Reluctantly Maddie agreed, but Jazz knew it wouldn't be long before her mother went to check on him.

"Maddie, I'm back!"

Jazz jumped to her feet at hearing her dad's booming voice announce his arrival. Relief flooded through her, knowing he was okay and that Danny would be arriving soon. Jazz raced out of her room. "Hi dad!" Jazz greeted nervously before dashing to Danny's room.

"Hey! Ja-"

Jack's greeting was cut short by seeing Jazz disappear as quickly as she had appeared.

"Hi Jack, how was your day?" Maddie asked, kissing her husband.

"Swell, Maddie baby! Me and Vladdie…"

Jazz stood by Danny's window waiting for him to show up. Uneasiness spread through her as the minutes slowly ticked away. Half hour later her brother was still not home. Jazz was now officially worried.

"Okay, maybe he ran into a ghost." She suggested to herself so she wouldn't panic. She dialed his cell from hers, but it just rang continuously without answer until his message system picked it up.

"Jazz! Danny!" she heard her mom call.

"Y-Yeah?" she called nervously opening Danny's door.

"Dinner will be ready in half hour, okay?"

"Alright! I'll tell Danny!" Jazz called out before closing the door and heading back to the window.

Jazz called his cell phone again, but this time there was no ring. It went straight into voice mail. "Darn it, Danny." she said nervously and called another number.

* * *

Tucker and Sam were watching movies in Sam's large movie theatre. They were upset that their half-ghost friend couldn't join them. Danny had told them yesterday that if he didn't call it was because he was grounded. 

"It's so unfair, Tucker! It's not Danny's fault, that ghost dog decided to wreck havoc on a school day!" Sam protested, folding her arms on her chest as she sat on a couch

"Tell me about it, Sam" Tucker agreed before taking a drink of his soda. "It stinks that he had to get grounded on a weekend. Talk about rotten-"

"Ring"

Sam pulled out her phone from her pocket and frowned. "It's Jazz." she informed Tucker. They both gave each other a look before quickly answering.

"Hello, Jazz? What's wrong?" Sam asked worriedly, knowing that the only reason Jazz would call was because of Danny.

………………………..

"What? No, we haven't seen him all day. Isn't he grounded?" Sam asked.

……………………………….

Tucker huddled next to Sam to hear what Jazz was saying.

"What?!" Sam exclaimed, bolting up in alarm.

"Sam, what's up?" Tucker asked anxiously, unable to hear the conversation.

"Darn it! Why doesn't Danny ever listen to me? I told-"

……………………………..

Sam's concerned expression quickly increased into dread the more she heard Jazz talk.

"Sam!" Tucker yelled, but the girl ignored him.

"Look, calm down. Tucker and I will go out and look for him; maybe he's just ghost hunting." Sam rationalized

……………………………

"We'll figure something out"

……………………..

"Yeah, I'll call you back."

Sam hung up and looked at Tucker who was very annoyed. "Vlad knows Danny was at his house yesterday morning, Tucker."

Tucker's eyes widen. "Man, now he's definitely going to have Vlad on his tail."

"It's too late for that, Tucker."

What?" he asked in alarm.

Sam sighed before telling him everything Jazz told her occurred since Vlad had come over Friday afternoon.

* * *

Heh, okay; if anybody had doubts on what Vlad did to Danny...well now you know! Okay I have two things to tell you. One: I decided to play a game with you guys! I based danny off a real species of badger...now the game is this. Can you guess which one? I'm going to give you two clues: 

1) The french word for the species is _petit blaireau_ and it means "little badger". (how appropriate, huh?)

2) the species has three subspecies; to find the correct one. Look at the description I give of Danny. There are several hints I added that should allow you to pin point the subspecies.

What do you win? Well it depends what you want. I can A) give you ciber cookies (I make very tasty ones!) B) give you a spoiler of this story or of my other story (Checkmate) The spoiler can be anything you want. I normally don't do spoilers because it ruins the story (IMO), but if you win and you want it. I'll give it to you. As I said it can be anything. C) I'll let you read one of the chapters before I post it. (again it can be this story or checkmate...although checkmate would be easier to grant this request with since I have it all typed up...this one I do not, but if you really want to I'll do it) D) Your own suggestion...If there is something you would like me to do (that I _can_ do) then I'll do it (except drawing because I can't draw and altering my stories because they're all planned out.)

Second thing; if you are talented at drawing and are willing to do so; I would be eternally grateful if you could draw Danny as a badger for me; remember that he looks like a specfic type of badger and he has blue eyes. If you are willling to do it; you can also pick any of the request above.

So PM if you find what badger Danny is modeled after or if you want to draw him! Oh and please review! I love to hear from you guys especially after a stressful day at school!


	5. Chapter 5: Night Hunts

Karen Rosalie: You wanted this story updated so here it is...

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom**

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* * *

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**Chapter 5: Night Hunts**

EE!

Danny picked himself off his back and shook his head to clear the dizziness he felt. Unknowingly he squeaked in frustration, before backing up once more to the opposite end of his cage. In a burst of speed Danny ran towards the hammock and jumped on it as soon as he reached it. Just like the previous times the hammock flipped from the force of impact and landed him hard on his back again.

"_Ow …again"_ Danny thought, not bothering to get off his back this time. He was attempting to jump on the hammock and then give another jump towards the top, but as soon as he jumped on top of the hammock it twisted. So he either ended up on the floor or wrapped in it.

A sigh of defeat showed he was tossing the idea aside. If he continued his attempts he would either end up with a concussion or get suffocated by the hammock itself. _"heh, I could imagine that one."_ He said with bitter humor.

Soft "chitters" left him as he thought of his predicament and how he was going to get out of it. _"Okay, I just have to think through this, right? I have to get to Jazz, Sam or Tucker. To do that I have get out of this fish tank first. I have painfully established that I can't jump out; I can't climb out; I can't…"_

The teen's eyes widen, before he righted himself with an excited chitter. _"Ghost powers! I have ghost powers! …How did I forget that?" _

Danny dismissed the thought and stood up on his hind legs and pressed his front ones on the glass. _"I'll phase out!"_ Danny closed his eyes, but then he slowly opened them back up. _"How do I do that?" _he thought with dread. Danny lowered himself to the ground as he realized something.

He couldn't remember how to use his ghost powers.

He knew he had them, but that's all he remembered. He couldn't recall how he got them or how to use them or what his ghost form looked like. Maybe he lost them after getting turned into a badger…

Danny quickly flipped through his memories only to find himself slowly panicking at realizing it wasn't the only thing he couldn't remember.

He couldn't remember what _anyone_ looked like or anything about them except how they related to him. He knew he had a family, friends, and enemies and he knew each of their names, but that was all. _"Oh, man, I forgot Desiree's wishes always come out twisted. I can't even remember what _I_ look like!"_

Danny's ears perked at hearing footsteps. He snorted in alarm and tensed. _"Great he's back."_ Danny hissed. "_Ugh! All these noises are getting annoying!"_ he thought. He hated how he couldn't hide his emotions. Everything he thought and felt ended up as some strange noise. He was so sick of hearing said noises come from him and what made it worse was that he couldn't control them; they just left him…it was embarrassing.

The teen growled as he saw Vlad walk in. Right then something else dawn on him. _"Wait… how is it that I remember everything about cheesehead here and not anyone else?!"_

"Here we are, Daniel." Vlad said placing a tray he was carrying on his coffee table. From how far away it was the teen badger couldn't see what the man brought, but at the moment he wasn't interested, anyways.

"_Vlad!"_ he "called out" and stood on his hind legs to get the half-ghost's attention.

Vlad turned his gaze to Danny at hearing loud chirps as he looked at him. "Yes?" he asked as if he would understand him.

"_You have to change me back! Desiree did something to me…well besides the badger thing; I can't remember anything!"_

Vlad just stared before smiling at him. "I'm sorry dear boy, but I can not understand a word you are saying. Maybe if you speak actual words we can get somewhere hmm?" he teased.

Danny lowered himself at his words. What was he thinking? His arch enemy probably wished for him to have this memory loss. The teen "glared" at him.

Vlad laughed. "Now you're mad at me? I _suppose_ I should have wished to understand you, but then again I did not know you would not be able to speak." He explained. "Ah well, I think I prefer you this way…I was sick of hearing your arrogant voice." He added with a dark look, before it quickly left him. He picked up the large tray and placed it on a stand close to the teen's cage.

Danny studied his movement while growling softly from how angry he was. "Here you go, little badger." Vlad said, placing a small dish in his cage.

Danny blinked at it before he slowly lifted his eyes towards Vlad who smiled innocently at him. If Danny had eyebrows one of them would be raised in incredulity. _"You got me a raw egg."_

"What?" Vlad asked inoffensively at the teen's look. "Would you prefer something else? A worm, perhaps? Or maybe a baby bird? …I probably could get you either one."

Danny felt sick, but not at the man's words. It was at the fact that those things sounded_ good_ to him for a moment before it went away. _"Ugh; I'm going to need therapy after this" _he thought to himself.

He calmly observed as Vlad hooked up a drinking bottle in the cage and then stared back at him to see his reaction. Danny rolled his eyes at him, which looked very amusing on a badger. _"He wants to humiliate me but I'm not letting him get to me."_ He thought and walked off to the other side of the pen.

"Where are you going, Daniel? You _must_ be hungry." Vlad said with amusement.

"_I'm not going to pretend to be your pet, Plasmius"_ he "said", a soft growl betraying his outer calm demeanor.

Vlad chuckled, before grabbing another dish. "Fruits?" he offered, placing down a dish with cut pieces of grapes, melon, strawberries and apple.

Danny didn't move.

"Come now Daniel, I do not want you to starve. They're just fruits. Here." He said, adding a dish of water in the glass enclosure. "I won't even make you use the bottle." He informed with a smirk.

Danny sighed. Wasn't it enough for the man to have turned him into a defenseless ….rodent? What kind of animal was a badger, anyways? Danny dismissed his question and sighed once more. _"I suppose I had this coming for making fun of him."_

"_It's obvious all he wanted to do was humiliate you"_

Danny shut his eyes at the headache he felt at recalling Jazz's words not too long ago. The teen's ears lowered with sadness. _"Fine; maybe if I give him what he wants he'll change me back."_ He was hungry after all since he had not eaten since breakfast.

Vlad smirked at seeing the teen walk over to the fruit bowl. Danny momentarily looked at him before he began to eat the fruits.

Vlad grabbed a near by chair and sat in it. "You should eat the egg too. You can easily crack it with your teeth." He suggested, observing the teen badger with amusement. A soft growl left Danny but he didn't look at him. "There's no need to get upset, Daniel; I'm just watching out for your well being." he teased

Danny continued to ignore him. Feeling thirsty he walked over to the dish of water, but his blue eyes went to the water bottle right next to it.

Danny stared back at Vlad who had an eyebrow raised at catching his contemplative look. "You wouldn't" he assured.

Danny "glared" at him. _"I hope you enjoy this fruit loop because as soon as I get out of this; I swear I'm going to enjoy kicking your butt." _he thought darkly, before swallowing his pride and drinking from the bottle.

Vlad burst into a full fledge laugh. "Daniel, what are you doing?!" he asked through his laughter. "I put that in there as a joke; I never thought you would actually use it!"

The teen paid him no mind and continued drinking from the bottle. _"It's just a bottle."_ he told himself to avoid feeling even more degraded.

Vlad held his stomach, unable to stop laughing. "Dear boy, you are too much!"

"_Alright, Plasmius, you got what you wanted now change me back!"_ Danny growled, turning to face him.

Vlad wiped away a tear from his eye and looked at the fuming badger. "Ah, I get it. Well, that was quite satisfying but humiliating _yourself_ isn't the same as_ me_ humiliating you."

Danny's growls deepened as Vlad's amusement fell into his own glare. "I turned you into an animal to teach you where you stand compared to me. No one toys with me without regretting it and you, Daniel will not be the exception. You want to use my misfortunes to gain a laugh or two; then I will do the same to you. Rest assured, after this, you will think twice before crossing me again."

"_The only one who uses people's misfortunes to gain anything is you so quit acting like the victim, because your not!"_ Danny snarled back.

Vlad stood up and grabbed the dish with the egg and placed it back on the tray. "Are you finished?" he asked in a serious tone, referring to the fruit bowl.

The teen badger exhaled angrily and shook his head.

"Meow"

Danny snorted in alarm and his fur rose at the sudden sound. Vlad rolled his eyes. "Calm down, Daniel. It's just Maddie." he told him, picking up the cat and showing it to him.

Danny couldn't stop hissing as the cat stared at him with curiosity. Despite the teen's threatening posture, he felt an illogical fear for Maddie. Danny took a deep breath, allowing him to relax again.

"Blast! That fat oaf you call father gave me a horrible headache." Vlad complained angrily while rubbing his temple. "How you, Maddie and Jasmine live with him is beyond me." He remarked in disgust

Danny's ears perked at the man's words. _"Dad"_ he thought. What had happen to his father? Vlad didn't hurt him…did he?"

Vlad looked quizzically at the chirping blue eyed badger. The evil smile that spread on his lips showed he had figured out what the teen was nervous about. "You want to know what I did with your father?"

Danny's eyes widen, nervous chitters leaving him. _"What did you do to him?"_

"Well, I'll let you ponder on that one." He said wickedly, stroking his cat.

Danny growled at him. _"I swear if you did anything to my dad…" _the teen let his threat hang as his growls turned into a low snarl

Vlad ignored him and his eyes went to his watch. "8:02" he remarked. "Well, little badger; I'm going to bed. You have a good night." He said, placing Maddie on the ground.

"_What?"_ he asked confused before seeing the man walking out with the tray he brought and Maddie on his heel. _"Vlad, wait!"_

"What's wrong, Daniel?" Vlad asked off-handedly.

Danny's ears drooped. He wanted the man to change him back. He didn't want to sleep in a cage or in the man's creepy house, but he couldn't tell him any of it…not that he would care.

Danny remained quiet and just stared at him.

Vlad smirked. "See you in the morning, my badger." He teased before exiting.

* * *

"You're kidding, right?" Jazz said dryly looking at what Tucker was handing her. 

"What? It works!" He defended.

Jazz gave him a drool look, but sighed. "Alright, I guess it's better then nothing." She said observing the device with disgust. She turned it on only for it to make a loud burping sound.

"Tucker! I thought you said you fixed it! It's suppose to make Danny's parents think he's asleep not that he has indigestion!" Sam said annoyed.

"I did fix it!" He replied, grabbing the voice recorder and pressing another button. "There" he said, snoring sounds coming from the recorder.

Sam rolled her eyes at Tucker's triumphant smirk.

"Jazz! Danny!"

Jazz gasped, at hearing her mom's voice. "You two need to go. I'll keep them away from Danny's room but you have to hurry; my mom hasn't seen Danny all day and I don't know how many more excuses I can make to keep her from finding out Danny's not here. Don't forget, if you don't find him come back here and we'll head to Vlad's house."

Tucker and Sam nodded before climbing out Danny's window. Jazz watched them leave before quickly arranging pillows under her brother's sheets to make it appear as if he's sleeping. She placed the recorder under the pillow with a roll of her eyes.

Turning off the lights she walked out. "Mom!" Jazz exclaimed at seeing her right outside the door.

"Jazz, what are you and Danny doing? It's dinner time."

"Danny" Maddie called stepping around Jazz and entering his room.

"Mom, wait!" Jazz cried as she jumped in front of her to keep her from going in any further.

Maddie frowned at seeing Danny asleep and snoring loudly…more loudly then she ever heard him snore.

"Danny's asleep" Jazz explained

Maddie's eyes sadden. "Is he upset with me?" she asked Jazz.

Jazz laughed nervously. "Danny? Upset? Of course not mom! You know Danny can't stay mad at anyone, _especially_ you." She ended confidently.

Maddie smiled at that and headed over to give her son a good night kiss. Jazz blocked her path. "Let's let him sleep; he's had a busy day." Jazz said nervously.

Maddie gave her a quizzical look. "Jazz, it's Saturday and he has been home all day. How could he have had a busy day?" she asked dryly.

"He studied all day?" she suggested meekly.

Maddie rolled her eyes at her daughter's poor excuse. "Sometimes I wonder about you, Jazz." Maddie said amused as she headed back out the door.

Jazz followed and laughed a little louder then the comment deserved. "Well I just want the best for Danny, mom…and lots of sleep is what's best!"

Maddie laughed and headed down to dinner with her family minus her son. "If you say so, dear." She replied although she couldn't help but think how much her daughter reminded her of her husband.

* * *

Danny chittered loudly as he paced the length of his enclosure. He couldn't sleep. Not only because of his predicament, but because something within him wouldn't let him! He felt too energetic and too anxious to sleep. He wanted to do something…something fun…something mischievous... 

Danny grinned internally, but externally odd clucking noises left his vocal cord…similar to soft duck quacks. _"If I could get out I would give Vlad a wake up call he'd never forget." _

He quickly forgot his thoughts as his eyes went to the large grandfather clock that said it was 8:47pm. The lights were all off and everything was _too_ quiet, but then again he shouldn't be surprised since only one person lived in the huge house and he was asleep.

Danny walked over to the water bowl and sat down next to it. He looked around with boredom until his eyes landed on the water bowl. He stared at it in a fixed manner for a while. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed playfully. In one quick motion he lifted his front paws and stomped on it. The bowl tilted and splattered him all over the face. Danny snorted in alarm and coughed a bit at getting water in his nose. _"What the heck?!" _he asked shaking off the water. He shook his head and stared at the mess he made quizzically. What just happened?

"_Man! I need to get changed back before this gets any weirder. Next thing I know I'll be grooming myself with my tongue!"_ Danny shuddered in revulsion.

He gazed up at the only way out and squeaked in frustration. The opening was taunting him. His freedom was right above him and he could not reach it.

He looked around. Maybe he missed something that could help him get out. Despite that it was pitch black he could see very well; in fact it was as clear as day light to him. He could see a little of his reflection in the glass and he knew his eyes were glowing like they do in most nocturnal animals.

It was then that it hit him; that's why he couldn't sleep. Badgers were probably nocturnal. _"Vlad did say I slept all day."_ He reasoned. _"Well, I don't see how this could get worse; what the heck am I suppose to do all night?!"_ he thought angrily.

Out of no where Danny's back fur prickled and his ears twitch. He whirled around looking in all directions. _"There's something here…" _he thought with anxious chitters.

The teenage badger felt fear swell within him at smelling that _something._

"_Danger"_ his instincts screamed, causing him to back himself into a corner and growl softly. He stared around but the entity in the room still was no where to be seen.

"Thump!"

Danny yelped at the sound and turned towards it. He hissed and growled in fright at the glowing eyes that gazed back at him. "Meow"

The teen slowly moved away to the opposite side of the cage in order to put as much distance between himself and the cat. Unfortunately for him, Maddie began to circle the cage in a predatory fashion. She was clearly trying to determine how to get to the smaller animal inside. "Meow"

Danny's logical side told him that he was too large for the cat to actually eat…but then his instincts yelled that a few swipes of her claws would change that.

He watched with dread as the cat finally looked up. She backed up a bit before leaping on the edge of the cage.

Danny breathed heavily while the very agile cat observed him from above. _"If I wasn't about to become cat food, I would laugh at the irony of having Vlad's cat be the one to waste me."_

Danny yelped loudly as the cat jumped into the cage. "Meow." She voiced, her claws extending out.

High pitched barks emitted from him as he pressed himself into the opposite wall and exposed his teeth in threat. _"Shoo, go away!"_ he "yelled" fearfully.

Soft growls left Vlad's cat as she lowered herself into a hunting stance. Everything that occurred afterwards went so quickly Danny didn't know what actually happened. All he saw was the cat leap at him before he closed his eyes and yelled. Instead of feeling pain, however, he felt himself fall and quickly hit something hard.

The teen slowly righted himself and shook of his haze. His eyes went wide at discovering he was on the ground in Vlad's lounge. Danny looked up and saw the glass enclosure on the stand with Maddie inside it. _"How did I get out?"_ he thought. There was nothing different about the cage. It was not tilted or broken, so how did he-

Danny chittered with excitement. _"I phased out! I still have my ghost powers!"_ he exclaimed. His happiness was cut short the second Vlad's cat jumped out of the cage and then to the floor.

"_Heh-heh, nice kitty; I didn't mean to seek Cujo on you."_ Danny said as he slowly backed away.

Danny yelped as Maddie pounced at him. He quickly did a sharp left, avoiding having her claws driven in him. He dashed out of the lounge with Vlad's cat in quick pursuit. He ran under a small table, but the cat easily followed him in. _"This cat's too fast!"_ he thought as he barely missed getting his tail clawed off. He ran out from under the table and headed down a hallway. Unfortunately his short legs where no match for the slim legs of the white cat and he soon found himself cornered at a set of stairs.

"_I so do not want to get eaten by a cat!"_ he voiced internally. Instinctively he arched his back and lifted his tail to make himself appear larger. A combination of growls, barks, and hisses emitted from him. The cat pounced once more and Danny yelped as he ran under her, but at feeling claws touch his tail he whirled around. His reflexes took over and with a snarl he attempted to bite the cat in defense, but all he managed to do was nip off some fur. The cat yowled in alarm, before tackling the teen to the ground. Luckily Danny reacted quickly and kicked her off avoiding the cat's nails from doing any harm to him. He looked at the stairs and dashed towards them. At realizing he was moving even slower, he knew he had made a fatal mistake.

Danny didn't even make it half way up the stairs before Vlad's cat caught up and cut off his escape. The cat swiped at his face, but he quickly backed away and avoided the sharp claws. Sadly, his actions caused him to lose his footing.

Danny rolled roughly down the stairs, a large vase bringing him to a painful halt. It wobbled a bit but luckily it did not fall on him. The teen panted as he slowly righted himself. A whimper left him at feeling his body hurting from the fall. Danny's ears lowered and he backed himself in between the vase and the wall at seeing the cat slowly descend the stairs. The teen panicked; things couldn't end like this for him.

"_Call for help"_ his instincts shouted at him. At seeing the cat closing in on him he let them take over. He shut his eyes as a loud, high pitched wail tore out of his throat.

In that instant Maddie ran at him and pounced with extended claws.

* * *

Wow, that's an evil ending huh? Sorry but I love cliff hangers in stories and I love giving them. I won't blame you for throwing tomatos at me. so... I want to thank everyone who played my little guessing game and for your reviews they really mean alot to me. 

I had two wonderful people draw me pictures of Danny as a badger. For those who do not know Danny is a Burmese ferret badger. It is the smallest species of the badger family. As you have seen in this chapter badgers are surprisingly very vocal animals. heh, and my mom says this is a waste of my time. I have learn alot reading and writing stories; she doesn't believe me though -shrugs-

Okay, Checkmate will be updated momentarily. Someone asked me to update it early as their prize... I am sooo sorry but I accidently deleted the PM you sent me. I can't remember your name. If you could please write me again to let me know I would apprciate it. I want to let everyone know who to thank for the early update...I'll explain it some more when I post CM.

Okay here are the links to some pictures. I can't draw but I was bored and drew some myself. I hope they are amusing to you all. Thanks again and please review!

DA accounts with Danny-badger drawings (if anyone wants to draw others please feel free! I would love to see them!!!

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My drawings Pearl200084: h t t p : (/) / w ww. deviantart. com /deviation /52498212/

FantomDrako drawing (thank you!!!) h t t p : (/) / w ww. deviantart. com /deviation /52246095/

DreamhazeMaster drawing (Thank you!!!) h t t p : (/) / w ww. deviantart. com /deviation /52155964/

This is a picture of a Burmese ferret badger: h t t p : (/) / w ww. badgers. org.uk/ badgerpages /ferret-badger-photo-02. ht ml


	6. Chapter 6: PlayTime

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom**

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**Chapter 6: Playtime **

Vlad slept on his large and soft bed, soft snores came from his unmoving form. At first glance, his slumber appeared serene, but one look at his scrunched eyebrows, clearly showed he was upset. The reason?

The sounds that faintly reached his room

Subconsciously, he perceived something was wrong. Noise was just not common in his house, so it usually meant trouble. Vlad knew he needed to wake up, but his tired body was making it extremely difficult. After a lot of mental effort, he managed it.

"What the blazes?" he whispered tiredly, his eyes slowly opening. Not fully awake, he sat up and rubbed his eyes with one hand. Vlad sighed irritably, at remembering a certain teenage badger was downstairs. He was probably making all that noise to annoy him. "Like father like son; right Mad-"

Vlad's eyes widened; His cat was not asleep on his bed. The billionaire's gaze snapped to his open door as a loud, high-pitched wail reached his room.

"Daniel" he whispered. In a blink of an eye, Vlad changed into his ghost form and teleported out of his room.

He appeared at the top of his stairs, his attention quickly going to the scene below. "Maddie, No!" Vlad exclaimed as his cat ran at the cornered and wailing badger. Seeing her pounce, he hurled ecto-energy at the teenager. The energy engulfed Danny and instantly formed a dome-shaped shield.

Maddie yowled in surprise, when she collided with a pink barrier. She finally noticed her owner floating down the stairs. "What are you doing?" Vlad scolded.

"Meow" she answered and rubbed affectionately against his legs

Vlad paid her no mind. He leaned down, grabbed the teen around the belly, and lifted him up. Despite being held, Danny's eyes were still tightly shut and he continued his distressed cry. "Daniel?" Vlad called worriedly while looking for any signs of injury. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?" he asked fearfully.

He continued wailing.

"Daniel! Stop screaming!" Vlad yelled, becoming more nervous. He shook the teen to get him to snap out of his current state. Fortunately, it did the trick.

Danny's cry died down; slowly, his mouth closed and his eyes opened. He looked around, confused and fearful. It didn't help the scared Danny when Vlad suddenly grabbed his muzzle; he yelped loudly.

Vlad frowned as he gazed at the teen's eyes. He could have sworn he saw brown eyes instead of blue ones.

Vlad dismissed it and glared at him "How the blazes did you get out?" he demanded.

Regaining his wits, Danny used his front paws to force the man to let go of his face. _"Let go of me, Plasmius!"_ he ordered, attempting to escape the man's other hand.

"Stop it, Daniel! Maddie is right below you. Do you want to join her?" Vlad snapped.

Danny ceased his struggles and growled at him. _"You did this on purpose! You let your cat come after me! Only a sick, self-absorbed, bitter….. _

Vlad sighed at the angry noises coming from the teen. "Are you alright?" Vlad inquired with a serious expression.

_"…. lonely, jerk would- huh_?" he remarked, confusion replacing his anger.

Vlad gave the staring badger an irritated look. "You can nod, right? Are you hurt?" he asked more firmly.

Danny just looked at him for a moment longer before slowly shaking his head.

Vlad didn't reply, but he was relieved at the fact. He floated toward the lounge with a surprisingly quiet Danny.

"Honey Barrels!" Vlad cursed, upon entering his living room. Pine shedding was all over the counter, floor, and rug. The water bottle, food dishes, and hammock were scattered on the wet floor of the glass cage. "What were you doing, Daniel?" Vlad asked heatedly.

_"Me? It was your stupid cat!" _Danny replied.

Vlad dropped the young badger on one of his couches. At becoming Masters once more, the billionaire quickly noticed he was bare foot and in his pajamas.

He glared back at the teen. "Don't move" he warned. "Maddie" he called and the cat followed him out.

Danny growled at Vlad's rough treatment. Out of frustration, he shoved two decorative pillows in front of him and they fell to the ground. He climbed the back part of the couch, reached the top, and sat down. He looked around at the layout of the room. _"This would be a good time to try to escape, but I don't know how smart it would be to go out there while it's dark."_ He shuddered when he thought about all the animals that might try to make a midnight meal out of him. Then there were cars, sewers…the dog catcher. _"This stinks! Almost everything is bigger then me! It's just like being trapped in the locker room with Dash and the rest of the football team; only this time, I have to worry about being beaten up And eaten! ... I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I'm safer at Vlad's house…well, as long as Maddie doesn't try to use me as a scratching post again." _

Danny's ears twitched at hearing footsteps. His eyes narrowed. "_But, come daylight; I'm getting outta here the first chance I get."_ He thought angrily.

Vlad removed the things from the glass cage and grumbled something about him after shooting the teen a spiteful look.

Danny inwardly smiled as his arch enemy scooped out the wet shavings from the cage. _"Heh, he has to clean up my mess. Serves him right."_

With soft, amused squeaks, he observed the irritated man. _"He sure looks tired; it would be really wrong of me to keep him awake any longer."_ he thought mischievously. His eyes went to the couch he was standing on and they narrowed humorously. _"What a comfy couch…must have cost a lot of money."_ He remarked to himself. He playfully flexed his front paws, nails digging and gripping into the soft leather. _"Oh yeah, It _would_ be really wrong."_ he repeated wickedly. _"but I can live with that."_

Vlad quickly put the hammock and bottle back in its original place. _"How did he get out of this enclosure?"_ he pondered. _"He couldn't have possibly climbed out; it's too tall."_ The man sighed tiredly. He wanted to go to bed and now he wouldn't be able to. He could not risk having his cat attack the teen again or have him actually escape. Losing the teen would be _very_ bad.

"RIIIP!"

Vlad turned his attention to Danny at the noise. His jaw dropped and his eyes widen. "What-"

The half ghost couldn't form a sentence as he stared at the large gashes Danny had made on his leather couch. Noises that sounded like laughter emitted from the teen while he dug his nails in the couch once more. He ripped another piece of leather off, exposing the cushion underneath. Vlad's eyes narrowed. What the blazes do you think you're doing?!" he yelled furiously.

_"Redecorating"_ Danny replied, looking at Vlad with mischief-filled, narrowed, blue eyes before continuing his actions.

Vlad hands fisted on his side as Danny quickly and effortlessly began to make his couch resemble the pine shedding he just changed.

Vlad stomped over to the teen badger and pointed his index finger in his face. "Listen here, you little rat; I am in no mood to be toyed with!" Vlad threatened.

Danny stared up at him with wide and teasing eyes. _"Are you mad at _Me_? There is no way you can be mad at cute, little, _Defenseless_, me." _

"Ah!" Vlad yelled as the teen painfully swiped at his extended hand. The man growled and tried to grab the badger but he easily avoided capture.

_"I guess you can be mad."_ Danny said, jumping on the man's wooden coffee table. With excited squeaks, he knocked over, a plant, two glass sculpted footballs, and a picture frame. The teen jumped to a single seat sofa, after adding deep claw marks on the oak table.

"Ah! Daniel! I am going to strangle you!" Vlad yelled, attempting to trap the teen.

_"You're gonna have to catch me first, fruit loop!"_ he retorted, making some large gashes on this couch too.

Danny panted while he quickly looked around for other things to destroy. _"Whoa!"_ he snorted and jumped to the floor to avoid the older hybrid's grasp. He "chuckled" at finding his next target. _"Jack Pot"_ he thought, running towards a Green Bay Packers shrine.

Vlad's eyes filled with alarm as the teen climbed up the stand that held two of his prized Green Bay Packers' shirts. "Enough of this." Vlad hissed. He lit his hand with pink energy, aimed for the teen, and fired it.

Danny yelped when something struck him and caused him to fall to the ground. _"Hey!"_ he protested at finding himself in a pink, circular ball.

Vlad walked over to the trapped teen and picked him up. The billionaire glared, his eyes flashing red, but then, his expression changed.

Danny tilted his head, confused at hearing the man break into a fit of laughter.

_"I think I made him loopy-er."_ Danny remarked, staring at the amused Vlad.

"Daniel! Do you realize what I just trapped you in?"

Danny looked around the ecto-ball. "It's a ball; what's so funny about-" He growled, finally getting it.

"You look like a big hamster!" he teased, before placing him back on the ground. "I'll let you play, little badger." He said with a smirk.

Danny fumed as Vlad sat down on his ripped sofa, propped his right elbow on the arm rest, and stared at him expectantly. "Come on, Daniel. You wanted to run around; here's your chance." He encouraged, supporting his chin on his right knuckles.

Danny sighed angrily at having the tables turned on him. _"Let me out of this stupid thing, Vlad!"_ he demanded, staying perfectly still to keep the "ball" from moving.

Danny became puzzled again as an evil smile grew on the billionaire's face. _"What's he smil-" _

"Meow"

_"Ah!"_ Danny yelled, spinning around to face Maddie.

"Well look at that; now, you two can play without getting hurt. How sweet." Vlad said with a chuckle.

Danny backed away, but the curious cat followed right along. _"Oh, man; not again!"_ Danny said fearfully.

"Meow" She playfully pawed the ecto-plasmic ball, in turn earning a yelp from the badger inside it. Danny's own backward movements combined with the push the cat gave the ball caused the teen to go rolling across the wooden floor. He hit a wall, bounced off it, rolled a bit more, and finally came to a stop.

Danny wobbled back to his feet, his vision spinning like crazy. _"I think I'm going to puke."_ He remarked, while Vlad laughed loudly.

"You two can play while I clean up _your_ mess, Daniel" Vlad informed airily, standing up and heading out of the room.

_"What?! Where are you going?!"_ Danny yelled. _"Vlad! Don't leave me with your evil cat!"_

The half ghost ignored the anxious chirps the teen made and left the lounge to get the vacuum and a trash bag from his storage closet. He really didn't comprehend why the teen was so afraid of his cat when they were almost the same size. His cat weighed about eight pounds and the young badger probably about five or six. In truth, Danny could easily do a lot more damage to Maddie then she could do to him. Vlad shrugged off the teen's illogical fear. "Serves him right." He grumbled.

Vlad returned with the vacuum and shook his head at the hissing Danny, but decided not to say anything.

Maddie's attention left the badger at hearing her master turn on the vacuum. Not happy with it, she jumped up on the couch, deciding to watch her "toy" from a distance.

Danny visibly relaxed, but his hisses didn't die down. This time, however, they were directed at Vlad and they sounded angry instead of fearful.

Vlad picked up the large pieces of crystal that were once decorative footballs and tossed them in the bag, along with the plant the teen broke.

He resumed vacuuming the rugs and floor. "Move, Daniel" Vlad asked when he got to where the teen was. Danny growled and stayed where he was. Vlad shrugged.

_"Whoa!"_ Danny exclaimed as Vlad pushed him away with the vacuum.

Vlad smirked, and causally continued before heading towards the teen again. _"Quit that!"_ Danny yelled as Vlad made him roll across the floor again.

"Sorry, my boy; you're in the way." Vlad said with a chuckle. "You don't want to move, so I have no choice but to force you to." He remarked, pushing the teen again.

Danny couldn't say anything else. He felt too dizzy to think and too sick to move away every time Vlad came towards him.

After a few more rolls, Vlad picked up the severely dazed teen. "Fortunately for you, it's late; otherwise, I would enjoy doing this all day." Vlad remarked wickedly, dissipating the ecto-ball.

From how dizzy he was, Danny didn't even realize when Vlad placed him back in the glass enclosure. He rested on his side, waiting for his stomach to settle down

A few minutes later, he walked over to the glass to see what Vlad was doing. The man had his legs stretched out on the couch while leisurely clicking through the TV channels.

Danny's eyes momentarily went to Maddie, only to find her staring to him intently, from the top of the couch. The teen crouched, attempting to escape her line of vision. _"Man, the second Vlad leaves, she's going to come after me!" _

Vlad turned his attention to Danny and raised an eyebrow at the nervous chitters he was making. Vlad smirked, noticing his gaze was to Maddie. "Calm down, Daniel; I won't leave you alone with Maddie again…I'm not _that_ cruel."

Danny rolled his eyes at the man's hypocritical remark, but couldn't help feeling relieved at the news.

"What do you like to watch, Daniel?" he asked causally before yawning.

_"Like I could tell you"_ Danny said annoyed.

Vlad smiled to himself at forgetting the teen couldn't answer. "I'll just turn it off." He decided. He walked over to the light switch and turned off the lights. "Go to sleep, Daniel" Vlad said, yawning once more.

_"Gee, I would love to sleep, but it's kind of hard to when I'm not remotely tired…not to mention I am in your creepy house and you are five feet away from me!"_ he said hotly.

Vlad gave an exasperated sigh at the noises the teen was making, but said nothing.

Danny lied down once Maddie's glowing eyes left him. The cat jumped down and settled herself on Vlad's lap.

The young badger exhaled _"Its 11:13; I wonder how long it will take Jazz to find me. I know she knows I came here, but I can't remember if she knows where_ Here_ is…I hope she does." _

"Cinnamon rolls! Would you desist that infernal ruckus?!" Vlad suddenly yelled.

Danny glowered._ "Even if I could, I wouldn't, you jerk!"_ Vlad grab a near by decorative pillow and press it on his face with a growl.

Danny "smiled" at this. _"If I can't sleep, he isn't sleeping either."_ He assured himself. He looked around for something to annoy the man with. At Finding that something, he walked over to it. Danny took a few sips of water, before biting the tip of the water bottle and banging it repeatedly on the glass.

Vlad sat up at hearing loud clanks. He lit his hand with energy and looked at the teen. "Stop that!" Vlad said menacingly.

Danny "laughed". _"What? This thing's not working and I'm thirsty!" _he defended. Vlad glared as the teen resumed banging the bottle on the cage. He moved Maddie aside and stood up.

_"Hey!"_ Danny protested when Vlad yanked the bottle away from him and removed it from the cage. _"Give it back! I'll dehydrate!"_ he joked.

The billionaire slammed the bottle on the counter and walked back to the couch. He forced himself to ignore the noises Danny made, sounding much like laughter. Danny squeaked excitedly.

He had an idea.

He ran to the opposite side of the enclosure and began pushing the pine bedding into the opposite side.

Vlad gritted his teeth at the scratching and cooing noises the teen was making, but decided to ignore him. He was just doing it to get under his skin.

Danny was content when he finally got all the pine shedding piled up in one corner. He quickly turned away from it and climbed the hammock.

With a laugh, he jumped off the hammock and landed on the pile of shedding. In some comical way, his actions resembled a child jumping on a pile of leaves after raking them together. _"Maybe this isn't so bad. I'm actually having fun _And_ annoying my arch enemy" _

"Scratch-Scratch- Scratch- Squeak! Thump! Scratch-Scratch-Scratch- Squeak! Thump!"

Vlad rubbed his temple at the sounds that came over and over again. He did not have the remote idea what Danny was doing nor did he care. He just wanted him to stop!

_"I wonder if I can get a sedative for badgers, this late at night."_ He thought angrily. After _several_ minutes the noises stopped. Vlad frowned at the silence. Just when he was about to sit up to check on the teen, he started all over again. This time, however, it didn't last as long and soon loud chirps took over.

Vlad sighed. From previous times, he knew that the teen badger only chirped when he was calling him. Vlad sat up and lit his hand. "What do you want?" he asked tiredly.

Danny open his mouth at him, his tongue was out from his continuous exercise. _"I need my water bottle and food! I'm hungry!"_ he replied, holding his mouth open.

Vlad rolled his eyes and fell back on the couch. Danny growled before chirping louder. _"Hey! Don't ignore me! I need water and food!"_ he yelled.

Vlad sat up again and glared. "Daniel, if you do not stop; I am going to shut your mouth close with a muzzle and tie you with that hammock!" he screamed.

Danny laughed. _"But I'm hungry!" _he replied, opening his mouth again.

"You're hungry" Vlad concluded angrily.

Danny nodded vigorously. _"Yeah, get me…huh, what do people eat again? Whatever. Get me more fruits!" _

"I am going to get you something to eat, but you are going to stop making those noises, agreed?"

Danny nodded vigorously again. Vlad shot him one last spiteful look before standing up and heading out of the lounge.

"_Vlad as my servant…_definitely_ not so bad. Maybe if I annoy him enough, he'll change me back…or feed me to his cat…I'll take my chances"_ he decided, absently licking his right paw.

Noticing his actions, he quickly stopped. _"Yeah, I _definitely_ need to take my chances." _

Ten minutes later, which to Danny felt like ten hours later, Vlad, came back. The man raised an eyebrow at the wood chip covered teen and at the "reorganized" cage. Vlad shook his head. He placed a bowl of fruits and nuts, and another of water in the cage. "Enjoy" he mumbled tiredly and walked back to the couch.

_"Not bad, but it took him too long so he's not getting a tip."_ Danny joked to himself. The teen badger calmly munched on his food, but his gaze mainly stayed towards his arch enemy. He focused on staying calm to avoid making any noises. He _wanted_ Vlad to fall asleep.

Not even fifteen minutes later, he heard soft snores. _"I said I would stop Those noises; so I made up a new one."_ He voiced playfully, dipping one of his paws in his water bowl.

Danny held his wet paw up and limped over to the glass. He knew he was enjoying this a little more then he should but he was having too much fun to care. He pressed his wet paw on the glass and moved it around a bit_. "This will work better if the glass is wet."_

_"I am going to make you regret your wish, Plasmius."_ He thought with dark humor. He pressed his front paws on the glass, applying most of the pressure on his nails.

"SCREEEEEEEEECH!"

"AH!" Vlad screamed, rolling off the couch at the ear piercing noise. Vlad crawled back up on the couch and lit his hand. He stared around to see what made the horrible noise.

"SCREEEEEEEEEECH!"

Vlad pressed his hands on his ears as Danny roughly dragged his sharp nails on the glass, making a noise that sounded very much, like fingernails on a chalkboard.'

_"Did I wake you up? I would say I was sorry but that would be a lie." _Danny said wickedly.

Vlad eyes narrowed furiously. "Daniel, I'm warning you, st-"

"SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH!"

_"Heh, this tickles."_ Danny said to himself, ignoring the man's approach. He looked up at Vlad and his eyes widen in surprise at seeing red ecto-energy inches from his face. _"Somehow I think he's past annoyed."_ The teen thought nervously, wondering if he could take a hit in his current form.

Abruptly, Vlad dispelled the energy and instead grabbed the frozen Danny by the back of his neck. For a moment, he wished the teenager was human again, just so he could blast him a couple of times. As tempting as it was, he knew, he couldn't attack the small badger. "I might not be able to give you the beating you deserve, but that does not mean I can not make you miserable. You so much as squeak again and I will find something to keep you suspended in this manner for the rest of the night!" He said darkly.

_"Oh come on! I can't help_ That_!"_

Danny yelped as Vlad looked around. _"Okay!" _he mentally smacked himself at making louder noises. He forced himself to remain calm, which wasn't too difficult when he_ felt_ calm.

At hearing the teen quiet down, he turned his eyes back to him. Without another word, he dropped him back in the cage.

_"Ow"_ Danny murmured. He quickly placed his front paws over his snout at seeing Vlad stop walking away.

He watched as Vlad sat back down on the couch and turned on the TV again. Danny felt anger wanting to consume him, but he forced himself to stay calm. He looked back at his half-eaten, fruit bowl and walked over to it. _"Jerk"_ he thought calmly, while chewing on a grape. He was glad the man had turned on the TV; at least he had _something_ to do. He next grabbed a pecan and leisurely chewed on it, while he gazed the the TV screen.

Vlad's eyes went to Danny at hearing crunching noises. Catching his gaze, the teen squeaked. A yelp followed it, before he placed his paws over his snout to end the noises.

A ghost of a smile tugged on Vlad's mouth as he turned his attention back to the TV. _"He really hates being held that way."_ He thought amused. The older-half ghost was unbelievably exhausted. Today had been a _very _long day. Despite that, he had not engaged in any activities that would explain how drained he felt. He concluded it was Danny's _and _Jack's fault. _"I suppose I should give Jack credit for actually enduring Daniel for fifteen years. I've only had him for one day and I'm already finding it extremely difficult not to strangle him. If I didn't know how cocky, the little rat is, I would blame his behavior on the fact that he's a badger and not a boy anymore." _

"Bam-Bam-Bam!"

Vlad growled. "What now?" he hissed at hearing someone trying to knock down his front door. His eyes went to Danny at hearing him squeak at the noise. "Ah" Vlad with a smirk.

He quickly slipped on his rob and slippers and left the lounge.

_"It's Jazz! It has to be!"_ Danny thought excitedly. He quickly began to find a way out. If only he knew how he phased out the last time. He closed his eyes in concentration. _"Come on! Turn intangible!"_ he told himself.

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Vlad had been expecting the younger half ghost's sister and his two friends to show up eventually. What he didn't expect, however, was that they would appear at almost one in the morning, with three ecto-guns, charged and pointed at him. 

Vlad stared wide eyed at the three teens on his doorstep. "What did you do with my brother, fruit loop?!" Jazz demanded.

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It was not my intention to end with another cliff hanger, but it came out this way. I couldn't continue because this chapter is aloready longer then the others. Not much plot development, but I hope it was funny and enjoyable at least. Below are doodles Enigmatic Penguin did of Danny as Badger. Check them out they are really cute! Thanks for reading and review please!!!

-Remove spaces and this: ()

h t t p (:) / (/) w ww. deviantart. com /deviation /53092879/


	7. Chapter 7: Complications

Chapter 7: Complications

Vlad's surprise quickly melted. "Do you realize what time it is?" he asked calmly, leaning against his door, indifferent to the weapons aimed at him.

"Where's Danny?!" Sam demanded, holding her weapon firmly.

"Sam, let me handle this" Jazz asked, before turning her attention back to the man. "We know you know where he is! I swear, if you as much as harmed one hair on his hair I'll-"

"You'll what?" Vlad asked menacingly, standing to his full height.

A flash of hesitation flashed on her expression before her eyes narrowed again. "I'll make you sorry." She replied, mimicking his tone of voice.

A smirk slowly spread on the man's face. "_You? _Make _me _sorry? I highly doubt that. In any case, what makes you think I would know where Daniel is?"

"Quit playing around, Vlad! _I_ know and _you _know he came here! Where is he?!" Jazz demanded.

"Yes, he was here, but then he…disappeared." Vlad said with a chuckle.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Jazz snapped back.

"It means, Jasmine, I can not tell you where your half human brother is, because, I have not seen him since your father left. Daniel came to make sure I didn't harm Jack and then….disappeared." Vlad's dry tone turned humorous at his last sentence.

Jazz frowned at this. Half human? The man never referred to her brother with that title. "What makes you think we're going to believe you?" Sam jumped in.

"Yeah" Tucker agreed. "You probably have him locked in your big house somewhere!"

Vlad covered his mouth as a yawn escaped him. "And where, Mr. Foley, would I keep him? A cage?" he asked calmly. "And if so, don't you think you would hear him calling for help?"

Right then, a wail reached the four people in the doorway. Vlad smiled amused. "See? Just like that one, but that isn't Daniel's voice, now is it?" he said in the same calm demeanor.

"What is that?" Sam asked with a frown.

Vlad shrugged. "My new pet and he wants attention, so, if you three will excuse me, I need to attend to him."

"We are not leaving, until you tell us where Danny is!" Jazz yelled.

"I already told you, I do not know where he is and you _will _leave, because, if you do not, I will be forced to make a few phone calls and inform each of your parents, their child is out in the streets, past midnight. Vlad replied firmly.

All three teens glared, but then Jazz's quickly fell. "Please Vlad, if you know anything about my baby brother, tell us. We've looked all over Amity for him and we can't find him!"

Vlad raised an eyebrow at her. "He has a lot of enemies, Jasmine. I told him that mouth of his would get him in trouble eventually; if he's missing, it probably already has. Try the Ghost Zone. Good Night." Vlad said airily, before slamming the door in their faces.

The three teen's stayed quiet, before Tucker broke it. "He knows something"

"Yeah, Tucker; we figured that out too." Sam said dryly, turning to walk away from the billionaire's house.

"I don't understand." Jazz said, walking beside Sam. "I was sure Danny was there, I mean, he would have found a way to get our attention, right?"

"I don't know, Jazz, but Vlad knows something and if he won't tell us, then we are going to find out ourselves."

"How, Sam?" Jazz asked, worry in her expression.

"Let's check the Ghost Zone, maybe Vlad sent him in there. The real world detector on the speeder will make it a lot easier. If he's not there, then we're going to _invite_ ourselves into the _mayor's _house." Sam replied, trying Danny's cell again.

"What about that noise we heard?" Tucker added thoughtfully.

"What about it, Tucker?" Jazz asked.

"Well, I thought he had a cat as a pet; that didn't sound like a cat to me." He said with a raised eyebrow.

Jazz shrugged. "He said something about having a new pet. I don't really care; he can get himself an entire zoo if it will keep him away from my parents and Danny."

"Well, I do!" Sam protested. "Whatever it was, it sounded like it was being tortured! Someone as demented as Vlad, should not, be allowed to have pets!"

"Sam, let's find Danny, first and then you can worry about helping your fellow animals." Tucker said dryly

Sam huffed but didn't respond. "Let's see if we have any luck in the Ghost Zone. I don't want to see the look on my mom's face if she finds out Danny is missing." Jazz said with a frown.

* * *

Danny fell silent when Vlad walked in holding a smirk on his lips. The teen's shoulders and ears slumped in sadness. He sat down, his eye gaze lowered. He could not phase through the cage. As much as he tried, he couldn't remember how to use his powers.

"Aw, come now, little badger; chin up." Vlad said amused, placing a finger under Danny's chin and raising it. "They _will_ be back." Vlad assured with a grin, moving his hand away. "Not that it would do you any good; they would not suspect you are you in a million years."

Danny "glared" at him, before turning away. He jumped up on the hammock and lied down, facing away from the man. Vlad was right, even if they did find him, they wouldn't recognize him. Worse, he couldn't talk and tell them what happened. Danny was so upset, he didn't even hear Vlad walk away and sit back down on the couch. _"What am I going to do?"_ he questioned fearfully. Danny simply lied there, the rest of the night. He was not tired and he had lost his appetite and energy after what happened. Eventually, around six in the morning, the teen feel asleep.

* * *

Maddie walked into her son's room. She knew that he would still be sleeping, but she had felt compelled to check on him all night and now that she was awake…

She needed to see him.

She got closer to his bed, noting that he was not snoring loudly, like last night; in fact, he was not snoring at all. Maddie gently touched her son's sleeping form, only to frown. She pulled down the sheet, feeling something that was not her son; it didn't even feel like a person. At seeing a pillow, instead of her son's head, she pulled the sheets away. "Danny?" Maddie questioned, seeing several pillows instead of her son. She looked around the room, her expression becoming angry.

She walked out of the room, and quickly checked the bathroom… Nothing.

"Jazz" Maddie called firmly, opening her daughter's door. At finding Jazz's bed empty, the ghost-hunting mom also became confused, and confusion and anger is not a good combination for any mother.

Maddie quickly headed downstairs, hoping they were there. She could understand Jazz, waking up early, but Danny? …She hadn't seen him since yesterday morning….were her children even home? "_Danny_, better be." She mumbled.

"Jazz? Danny?" she called, heading to the kitchen. Maddie sighed; it was empty. Right then, a noise in the lab caught her attention and she anxiously made her way over to it.

"Jazz? Danny?"

"Mom!" Jazz exclaimed, quickly slamming the door of the Specter Speeder.

"What are you doing?" Maddie asked suspiciously.

"Who? Me?" she said nervously.

Her mother raised an eyebrow. "Oh, right. Ha-ha! Of course, me! I was just looking at dad's ghost inventions!"

Maddie knew she was lying. Her daughter hated anything related to their work. "Is Danny in there?" she inquired, seeing she was pressed heavily on the speeder.

"D-Danny?" she asked.

"Yes, Danny! Your brother?" she replied exasperated.

"Oh, Danny! Yes! I mean, no! Well, he was, maybe." she said changing her mind back and forth.

Maddie put a hand on her hip and tapped her foot on the floor; irritation clearly on her face.

"Danny's sleeping, mom." Jazz said with a nervous smile.

This made Maddie extremely upset. "Young lady, do not lie to me. What's laying on Danny's bed are pillows! You tell me, right now, where he is, because if he left the house, knowing he is grounded for the weekend, then I am going to ground him for the entire month and you will keep him company for covering his disobedience and lying!" Maddie said firmly.

Jazz shoulders slumped in defeat. "Mom…Danny, well he's… at detention!" she covered, her attitude abruptly changing.

Maddie rubbed her temple at her excuse. "Jazz" she began, her tone boarding on anger. "I want the truth."

"But it is." She defended softly, inwardly feeling guilty of lying to her mom.

"Jazz! Mr. Lancer, informed me, Danny, only had detention on Friday afternoon and even if he had not told me this, I still would now you are lying. It is 6:02 on a Sunday morning! How can he possibly be at detention?!"

"Well, it's not exactly detention; Mr. Lancer is letting him make up the work he missed." Jazz explained, her right eye twitching, momentarily.

Maddie looked at her with unconvinced eyes. "I am going to call the school, Jazz. Are you sure?"

Jazz's gaze fell to her twiddling fingers. "Yes" she said softly.

Maddie sighed and shook her head. "Alright." She accepted calmly, turning away from her and heading up the stairs.

Jazz sighed herself at her mom's retreating form, before turning towards the speeder and opening the door.

"Detention?! Is that the best excuse you can come up with?" Jazz asked angrily, but kept her voice down.

"Well, it's better then _yes, no, maybe!_" Sam mocked back in the same tone and voice, volume.

Jazz sighed in annoyance, but dropped the argument. "You two, will have to stay in there until I can sneak you out. The last thing I need is my mom asking me why, Danny's friends are here."

"Man, you're going to be in big trouble when she finds out Danny's not at school." Tucker whispered.

Jazz glared at Tucker. "I don't care about that. I'm more worried about what I'm supposed to tell her when she _does_ find out." Jazz sighed worriedly. "No one is going to answer at school and it will take my mom a few hours to give up on calling before she decides to wait for him to get back. By noon, she'll be extremely worried and will drive over to the school. That means we have until then to find him." Jazz informed

"Wow" Sam said with a baffled look. "You really have your mom figured out."

Jazz smiled helplessly at her. "When it comes to Danny, she's not very hard to figure out, Sam."

"So, what now?" Tucker asked. "We checked the places we know in the Ghost Zone and the Real World detector did not pick anything up."

Jazz yawned, Sam and Tucker doing the same right after. "We're going to head back to Vlad's; he has to know something. Problem is, if I run out now, my mom will get suspicious.

"We have to head back home, anyways, before our parents discover we were gone the whole night. My morning parents like to give me wake up calls at 7am sharp." Sam said, her expression turning bitter at her last remark.

"My mom's _cooking_ gives me wake up calls at 7am sharp!" Tucker quipped, a hungry smile on his face.

Sam rolled her eyes at him, but she had to admit, she too, was hungry _and_ tired. "Alright, let's all get some rest and eat. Maybe Danny will show up on his own; if not, we'll meet at the park at nine and head to Vlad's." Jazz resolved, walking over to the door to see if her mom was there. "Come on, I think my mom's upstairs."

Quickly, the two young teens made it to the door and headed back to their houses.

Jazz watched as her mom walked down the stairs with her address book. "Mom, don't worry so much about, Danny. He's fine, really." she comforted. Jazz knew that her mom wasn't really upset that Danny, while grounded, had left the house; she was upset because she had not seen him since yesterday morning. Jazz sighed at not getting a response from her mother, who was busy dialing the school's number. The teenage girl walked up the stairs and towards her room for a small nap, or try to nap at least. She was tired, but it was hard to sleep while her brother was missing.

* * *

Vlad sat up, placed his head in his hands and groaned. He felt horrible! He had a terrible headache and he felt so drained, he was sure he couldn't stand. "I must be catching something." He whispered, rubbing his temple. With a great deal of effort he got to his feet, only to experience vertigo right after. He quickly grabbed the couch's arm rest for balance and groaned again.

He sighed tiredly as his hazed eyes went to his clock. "Blast" he mumbled annoyed. It was already eight in the morning and he felt like it was still night time. Ignoring his dizziness he walked over to Danny.

Vlad huffed amused. Danny was curled up into a ball, his face hidden under his arm and the end of his tail. "Oh, now he sleeps" he said. The man's humor slowly vanished as he realized something. He slept yesterday morning too.

"That can't be right." He stated thoughtfully. He knew enough about badgers to know they were nocturnal creatures, but that couldn't apply to Danny. He might look like a badger but internally, he was not. Mentally, he was still the same teenage boy. Vlad studied the sleeping badger for a moment. "I haven't noticed anything unusual about him. Well, the sleeping, but teenagers have a habit of sleeping in till later times, right?" he asked himself. "I thought his eyes were brown yesterday, but it had to be the light _and_ as annoying as it was, everything he did yesterday, is not anything _he_ wouldn't do." Vlad glared at him. "He's fine. If he starts grooming himself with his tongue, then, I _might_ worry." He said angrily, but then quickly smirked. Without a second thought, he grabbed the hammock and flipped it; the teen fell to the floor with a thump.

Danny yelped and quickly got to his feet, while looking around. "This isn't the time for you to be sleeping; you wanted to sleep, you should have done so while it was dark."

Danny stared up with alarmed and hazy eyes. It wasn't until Vlad walked off that he remembered where he was and who the person talking was.

"_Ow"_ he thought, calming down once more. He stretched; just like a cat, his back arched and paws flexed. A big yawn left him as he did so, exposing his small, pink tongue and showing of his nice set of teeth and fangs. _"It's morning?"_ he thought. _"It feels like night to me."_ Another yawn left him, his sleepy eyes closing mid way after. _"Well, at least I can finally get outta here…or try. …I'll figure out how to tell them I'm me when I get there."_ He added with sad chitters, remembering what occurred last night. _"I have to find a way to get Vlad to let me out of this cage…heh, maybe messing up his living room wasn't the greatest idea."_ He concluded, realizing, he had reduced his chances of being let out after his actions. _"Not that I regret it"_ The teen badger said with a chuckle. _"Where did he go anyways? He better come back soon."_ He yawned. _"I'll just lie down until he gets back"_ he groggily decided. A minute later he was asleep again.

* * *

As they agreed, Sam, Tucker, and Jazz met at the park. "I don't get why the boomerang isn't picking up his signature." Jazz said worriedly.

"Maybe, he's just too far away, Jazz." Sam suggested, just as worried.

"Far away? That's bad!" Jazz exclaimed on the verge of tears. "It's been more then a day and my little brother is, still, nowhere to be found!"

"Relax, Jazz. I'm sure there has to be some explanation to all this. We'll use the Ghost finder on our way to Vlad's; maybe it'll pick Danny up." Sam hoped.

"Speaking of the Fenton Ghost finder, it's picking up a ghost right now and it's not too far from here." Tucker informed, while observing the radar on the device spin and beep."

Jazz smiled. "Maybe it's Danny, since we haven't heard-"

"AH!"

The three teen's stared at one another before running towards the screams and calls for help. "Where's the ghost, Tucker?" Sam asked, looking back at her running friend.

Suddenly, they all heard a loud horn and felt the earth rumbled. "What is that?!" Jazz exclaimed, covering her ears. "It sounds like-"

"A SHIP!" Tucker yelled, pointing at the sails that could be seen over the trees.

All of them stared wide eyed as the ship shredded through the ground, across from them. "How does a ship, end up, in the middle of Amity Park?!" Sam exclaimed.

"Your wish is my command, fools!" they heard a voice echo loudly, before it laughed evilly.

Jazz eyes broaden as Desiree flew by. "It's- It's-"

"Desiree!" Sam and Tucker exclaimed, angrily

"No, Ghostly Geina!" Jazz corrected

Sam and Tucker gave her a weird look. "Ghostly Who?" Sam asked in disbelief. "Her names' Desiree, Jazz."

"Look, we can argue about her name later. We need to stop her before she causes anymore damage." Jazz replied.

"By _we,_ I think you mean Tucker and me." Sam said crossing her arms.

"No, I mean, Tucker, you _and_ me." She countered, placing her hand on her hip.

"No offence, Jazz, but Tucker and I have been doing this longer; we can handle it." Sam assured.

"I think you forget, Sam, I come from a family of crazy ghost hunters; if anyone has experience in this; it's me." She replied annoyed

"Just because everyone in your family hunts ghosts, doesn't mean, you have experience; name one ghost you've caught,and _Danny_ doesn't count."

"I've uh.. caught plenty; you are going to have to accept that I'm part of this team, now."

"You're not part of this team; we can handle things on our own!"

Tucker stared back and forth between the two arguing girls. He moved his gaze pass them and he could see Desiree still wracking havoc. "Hey, guys?"

"Danny, doesn't need you!"

"Oh, and he needs you? What makes you so special, Sam?!"

Tucker looked at them for a moment longer, before shrugging. Checking to make sure he had a tube of lipstick in his pocket, which was really a ghost weapon, he ran off towards Desiree.

The arguing, Sam and Jazz, didn't even notice.

Tucker took cover behind a bush, after avoiding a flying dog. "Man, why would anyone wish for a flying dog and… a dinosaur?" he added, seeing some teenage kid running away from a full size T-Rex.

Tucker's attention went to the ghost genie; she stopped one of the fleeing civilians and waved a hand at him. "And what is _your_ hearts' desire?"

"Oh no you don't!" Tucker exclaimed, taking off towards the ghost. "You've worked enough for today, Desiree, how about taking a lunch break." He quipped, firing the ecto-lipstick at Desiree.

Not prepared for the sudden assault, Desiree was thrown away from the civilian. "That reminds me; it's been 15 minutes since my last meal. Dude, you owe me a triple sized meal at the Nasty Burger once all this is over with." Tucker stated, referring to Danny.

Desiree watched her victim run off, before glaring at the teen. "Why you insolent child, how dare you interfere?"

"I wouldn't, but your wishes stink and_ I_ know that for fact" he shot back, firing two other shots.

The spirit quickly avoided them, realization falling on her facial features. "You're one of the ghost boy's helpers."

"What? Hey, have you seen Danny?" Tucker asked, hopeful.

Desiree laughed, before smiling wickedly. "Per- AH!" The ghost was blasted to the ground by a green blast, before a blue light quickly engulfed her and she disappeared. In a flash, the wishes the ghost had granted became undone or vanished

"Ha! I shot her! See? I _can_ catch ghosts!" Jazz announced, deactivating the Fenton ghost peeler before doing a small victory dance in front of Sam.

"You didn't catch anything! I did!" she protested, shaking the thermos in her hand for empathizes.

"I think Desiree knew something about Danny." Tucker voiced.

"She did? What did she say?" Sam asked, urgently.

"Nothing; she was going to reply but then you guys came along." He replied a little annoyed.

"Why do you think she knew something, Tucker?" Jazz asked with a frown.

Tucker shrugged. "She recognized me as Danny's friend…I don't know…. Just forget it; I guess I read too much in that. I mean, why would Desiree know where Danny is, right?" Tucker rationalized.

Sam and Jazz sighed simultaneously. "Come on, we need to hurry; the faster we get to Vlad's the better. The two other teens agreed and resumed their walk.

* * *

Phew, done. So Sorry for not being able to post Saturday; I was out all day and then Sunday was the same way. I tired to post it last night, but after doing HW, I was having a hard time staying awake and the fact that editing, itself, makes me sleepy didn't help. I hope you guys liked this chapter in any case. Okay, important information: I am going on a trip, leaving this Friday, so, I won't be able to update until May 19th; I come back the 11th, but I won't be able to write a chapter in a day, so, the update will have to be until the next Saturday, after. Good News? None; no, I'm kidding! Ghostlover15 requested an early chapter for this story, soo…I will be posting another chapter after this one. I'll just give you guys some time to read this one, then post the other one, kay? Alright, see ya later and Thanks for your support! 


	8. Chapter 8: Be careful what you wish for

**Chapter 8: Be careful what you wish for**

Vlad felt a bit better after a shower and freshening up. He was glad it was the weekend because his days weren't as hectic as they were any other day. Being, a billionaire and the major of a town was a lot of work. Vlad walked back into the lounge where Danny was, only to find him asleep…on his back.

"Ugh, that's appealing." Vlad said sarcastically, before flicking him on his nose. "Wake up, Daniel"

Danny made a few noises as he turned to his side and curled up. Vlad rolled his eyes. He grabbed the teen by the tail and yanked him from his curled position. That brought forth a yelp from the badger. "You don't really think I'm going to let you sleep, do you?"

"_Ow! What's your problem?! That hurt!"_ Danny exclaimed angrily, soothing his tail with his paws.

"Oh? Did that hurt, little badger?" Vlad cooed mockingly. "Well I'm glad; now I know how to punish you if you misbehave, hmm"

Danny growled, wishing the man would get a little closer so that he could hurt him. He didn't just want to use his claws on him, he also want to bite him _hard _and not let go. If he wasn't so angry at the moment, he would have questioned his urge severely.

"I'm going to make pancakes, would you like that?" Vlad asked with a calm smile.

"_He's going to make what?"_ Danny thought perplexed.

"I'll take that as a yes." Vlad said airily, turning to leave.

Danny's eyes widen. _"Vlad! Wait! Don't go!"_

"Don't worry, Daniel; I'll make sure Maddie doesn't come in here while I'm gone." Vlad shot back at hearing the teen calling him.

"_Darn it, I have to get him to let me out!" _he said urgently, wracking his mind for an idea.

Vlad halted and turned back to Danny with a raised eyebrow. He was purring.

Danny stood on his hind legs and stared at Vlad with big, blue eyes. "_Uncle Vlad, I want to go with you."_ Danny "said" in the nicest voice he could muster. He had to get out and if he had to suck up to Vlad to do it, then so be it.

"You want me to take you out?" Vlad asked, crossing his arms.

Danny nodded, his purrs still present. "And why should I? Is it because you have been so respectful to me? Or is it because you have not, misbehaved, destroyed my house, nor kept me up the entire night?" Vlad retorted sarcastically.

Danny forced himself to stay calm although he wanted to insult the man at his words. _"Please. I'm bored!" _Danny inwardly smiled. _"I'll be good"_

Vlad rolled his eyes at the teen's louder purrs and innocent look. _"I suppose if I leave him alone he'll fall asleep. And That is something I am not letting him do."_ He thought, glaring at the teen at his last sentence.

Vlad walked back to Danny and extended his hand into the cage, but then stopped. "You're not trying to bite me, are you?" Vlad inquired suspiciously.

Laughter like noises left Danny, before he purred again. _"I want to, but I need you to take me out so I can get to Jazz, so no, uncle Vlad, I'm not going to bite you." _

The older half ghost rolled his eyes once more, before lifting Danny by the scruff of his neck. "I'm not taking any chances." he said with a smirk.

"_Oh come on! Don't pick me up like….this."_ Danny's protest quickly melted and he sighed.

Arriving at the kitchen, Danny suddenly felt a weird tingle pass through his relaxed body. "I can't watch you and cook at the same time, so this will keep you safe and behaved." Vlad said calmly, placing the teen down on the kitchen table.

The teen badger groggily observed his surroundings and slowly realized he was in a blue ectoplasmic ball. Regaining his senses, Danny glared at Vlad. _"What? No! Let me out!" _he demanded, trying to break through the ball.

"Now, Now" Vlad said, quickly grabbing the rolling ball that was heading towards the table's edge. "I strongly recommend you stay still; you do not want to fall from this height." he assured.

Danny angrily watched the man walked away from him. _"Darn it! I wasn't expecting him to do this! How the heck am I supposed to escape now?"_

The blue eyed badger carefully walked towards the table's edge to see how high up he really was. _"Whoa, that's a painfully long, way down."_

Danny sat on his romp and glowered at Vlad while he pulled things out from his fridge. It was then that Danny's nose wiggled. _"Hey, what is that?"_ he asked, sniffing the air. The smell was making his mouth water and stomach grumble. He stood to his full height, attempting to find out what that wonderful smell was; to the teen's displeasure Vlad's form blocked his line of sight.

"Crack"

Danny's ears perked at the sound; quickly, the awesome smell got ten times stronger. _"Man, whatever he's making, it smells really good!"_ he said excitedly.

"Don't you get tired of making so much noise?" Vlad asked annoyed without turning away from what he was doing.

"_Don't you get tired of being a self-absorbed and bitter old man?"_ Danny retorted hotly.

Vlad rolled his eyes. _"What am I expecting? Even as himself, he couldn't keep his mouth closed"_ he thought dryly

Danny observed his arch enemy head back to the fridge and pull out a weird looking bottle with white liquid in it. It smelled somewhat appetizing, but not as much as the other smell already in the air.

A gasp and a thump pushed the teen away from his thoughts. "What…" Vlad stared wide eyed at his transparent hand, ignoring the gallon of milk on the floor. He willed his hand to solidifying once more.

Danny gazed at the man with curiosity as he inspected his hand in bewilderment. Abruptly, the man's eyes went to him. Vlad quickly approached him, lifted up the ball and began studying it intently. _"What are you doing?"_ the young badger asked quizzically.

Vlad placed him down and summoned blue energy in his hand. He studied it with a frown, willing it on and off. "Odd" he mumbled.

Danny stood in alarm when Vlad switched into Plasmius. _"His ghost form…"_ Danny thought absently. He searched his mind for the reason why he felt more wary of the man in this form, but he drew up blank. He remembered Vlad turned him into a badger, but why and how was now a blur. _"His ghost form has a name; I know that much, but what is it? ...I knew before." _He thought worriedly, watching the half-ghost will pink energy in his hand. Vlad picked him up once more, the ball instantly becoming green, then pink, then red, and finally purple. Turning human, Vlad placed him down, and mumbled something as he walked off. He picked up the bottle of milk on the floor and resumed what he was doing.

"_What the heck was he doing?" _Danny wondered, tilting his head. His attention quickly went to the purple ecto-ball as it faded into a red hue. The teen rolled his eyes at this. _"Oh, I get it; the pretty colors are supposed to keep me entertained."_ He stated sarcastically.

Danny headed back to the table's edge at hearing Maddie walk in. He watched her keenly as she strolled over to Vlad and meowed at him for attention. "Not now Maddie, I'm busy." Vlad said, briefly looking down at his cat before turning his attention to the stove.

"_That's right cat, get lost."_ Danny growled. He didn't know why, but he felt happy that Vlad rejected the cat. _"I might not remember, but I'm pretty sure that I wasn't a cat person."_ The teen thought, his eyes going to the ball once more as it changed to a pink color. _"Now that I think about it, that cat isn't so scary."_

Ten minutes later, Vlad finished and placed a plate of pancakes on the table. Danny backed away from the plate. _"This isn't what I smelled and it's…hot."_

Vlad sat down after getting everything he needed. He studied the green ecto ball with perplexity, while pouring orange juice in a small bowl for the teen. "I _must_ be coming down with something" he concluded, watching the ball turn blue. With a tap of his finger, the ball of energy dissipated. "Here" he said, putting the bowl of orange juice in front of the confused badger.

Danny stared at the orange liquid for a moment, before his eyes went to the bowl of brown and spongy squares. _"Ew" _he thought as Vlad added a light brown liquid above it.

"Let me know if you want more honey" he told him absently as he poured himself a glass of orange juice.

Danny warily sniffed the orange juice before giving it a quick lick. He jumped back at the unexpected taste.

Vlad raised an eyebrow at the teen's odd behavior. "It's not poisoned, if that's what you're thinking."

Danny ignored him; he was more interested in figuring out what these odd things were. _"It tastes like an orange, but it looks like colored water." _He turned to the now soggy, pieces of pancake. He licked the honey and found it tasted …_alright_, but when he took a bite of the pancake he spitted it back out and shook his head. _"Oh gross! What are you feeding me?!"_ Danny shouted angrily.

"What? Is my cooking not good enough for you, Daniel? I'll have you know your parents enjoyed my cuisine when we were in college." He informed irritably, before turning his attention back to his breakfast.

Danny sighed; this was definitely not what he smelled. _"Give me more honey, maybe if I drown this stuff in it, I can keep it in my mouth long enough to swallow." _He grumbled, nudging the bowl of honey.

Vlad grabbed the serving spoon and applied more honey to the teen's breakfast. "What? More?" he asked, seeing Danny staring at him expectantly after he added two large spoonfuls of honey. Danny nodded.

After the sixth spoonful, Vlad picked up the bowl of honey instead. He slowly poured the honey into Danny's bowl, a look of disbelief and curiosity present the entire time in his expression. It wasn't until the teen's bowl was to the brim with honey that he finally looked away from the man and began eating his breakfast.

Vlad cringed as Danny calmly licked away at the honey. "How can you eat that?" he asked in disgust.

Danny looked up at him; whiskers, nose, and mouth covered with honey, before he licked it away with his tongue. _"The same way you can, besides it's not like I have a choice!"_ he said annoyed

Vlad pushed away his own plate, feeling what little appetite he had vanish. Danny turned his attention back his arch enemy at his actions, but still continued to eat his breakfast. It was until now that he noticed how ill Vlad looked. _"Vlad's been acting weird; maybe his age is starting to catch up to him, but that doesn't explain how pale he looks."_

Vlad placed his elbows on the table, before covering his face with his hands and murmured something.

Momentarily and to his confusion, Danny actually felt concerned for him. He didn't know how, but he could sense something was wrong with him…and it was serious. The teen badger sighed softly; he needed to focus on getting out of here and Vlad's current inattentive demeanor was the leverage he needed to succeed.

Danny slowly edged away from his bowl and Vlad. Now that he wasn't trapped in an ecto-ball, he could use his claws to climb down. Stealthily and agilely, the badger leapt on a chair's armrest, before jumping down on the seat's cushion. He climbed down the rest of the chair and made it to the floor without Vlad noticing. Unfortunately Maddie did and meowed.

"Daniel?" Vlad asked confused as he looked around for the teen.

Danny stayed calm to avoid making any noises that might give away his hiding place under the table.

"Oh, Sugar Canes! Where did you go, you little rat; I am in no mood for this!" Vlad shouted angrily, standing up.

Danny took off the second Vlad noticed him under the table. "Daniel, I am not chasing you around! Either you come willingly or I'll have Maddie drag you back here with her claws" he heard the man shout.

Danny ignored the billionaire's threat and continued to run down a hallway. _"I have to find a way out of this rat maze!"_ he thought frantically. Unfortunately, he didn't plan what he was going to do once he got away from Vlad. The teen had no clue how he was going to get outside!

Danny panted as his eyes darted around the multiple hallways. _"Darn it! Which one do I take?"_ It was then an idea struck him. _"I want to go outside…and outside has its own smells and noises."_ Danny sniffed the air, quickly finding the smell of flora and moisture coming strongest from a hallway on his left. He sprinted towards it and his ears perked up at the sound of birds. _"Yes!"_ he thought, seeing the front door ahead of him. Danny clawed at the side of the door, trying desperately to open it. _"There's no way I can open this; I have to phase through it, it's the only way I can get out of here! Come on Danny, think! There has to be something that will trigger my intangibility power; If I did it once and I can do it again!"_

The teen thought back to what had occurred with Vlad's cat. How did he manage to turn intangible? He remembered being scared and then… it just happened …Were his powers triggered by fear? Fear of being harmed? He remembered wishing with all his might that he wasn't eaten…. Danny's eyes widen, _"That's it! My ghost powers are tied to my instincts! I didn't want to be hurt, so I instinctually did the only thing I could to avoid that…I phased through the glass!"_

Danny's fur hitched and he whirled around just as Plasmius materialized in front of him. "I don't know what you are trying to do, but I'm not letting you do it." He said menacingly before changing back into Masters. Danny yelped as Vlad formed blue energy in his hand and threw it at him. He jumped away, avoiding the energy that turned into a ball to capture him.

"Are you trying to get out? Foolish rat, where will you go? Do you really think you'll survive out there long enough to get to them?" Vlad asked, forming more blue energy in his hand.

Danny growled. _"I'll take my chances. I'm not being anyone's pet for the rest of my life, especially yours!" _The half-ghost fired the energy in his hand, but this time, he didn't aim for Danny; he aimed in front of him. The teen stared at the pulsing, ecto-line in front of him with confusion.

With an upward movement of Vlad's hand, the energy raised and became a wall of energy. _"No!"_ Danny shouted, finding himself boxed in by the door, two walls, and Vlad's shield.

Danny turned towards the door and scratched at it. _"My powers are tied to my instincts, but I can't trigger those either; their just there!" _

Vlad walked through the barrier; it turned into a blue mist as he did so before solidifying once more. He watched Danny in amusement as he scratched at the door. "You really need to learn to think ahead." Vlad said shaking his head.

Danny lowered his front paws back to the floor at his words. He was so angry that his hair prickled; he wanted to escape, but Vlad kept trapping him every time. He felt cornered and he couldn't take feeling that way any longer. _"I've had it"_ he growled, unaware that his eyes flashed brown. Danny whirled around and with a snarl, lounged at Vlad's leg.

Vlad stumbled backwards in surprise. The shield that was raised dissipated. "What the blazes are you doing?! Let go!" He shouted, trying to shake the badger of his leg.

Danny growled, his jaws steel tight around the pant material in his mouth. Using all four paws, he clawed at Vlad, quickly shredding the man's pants like paper.

"AH!" Vlad yelled, grabbing Danny around the stomach and trying pulled him off. He stumbled some more, only to collide with a small decorative table in the hallway and fall backwards.

Danny let go as Vlad slammed into the table, breaking it in the process. _"I don't care how much bigger you are then me; I'm going to kick your butt!"_

Vlad sat up and rubbed his head before glaring at the teen. "Why you little- AH!" the billionaire shouted again as the teen attacked his arm; this time he grabbed more then just clothing with his teeth. "Daniel, let go this instant!" Vlad hissed, trying to pry the teen's jaws from his arm.

Despite that the man's hold around his head made it difficult for him to breath, Danny refused to let go. Vlad quickly got enough sense to turn his arm intangible, causing the badger to fall to the floor.

Danny shook his haze before turning his angry eyes back to Vlad; they flashed brown again. The older half-ghost gasped as the teen quickly climbed back on him and headed straight for his neck. Through his own instincts, Vlad managed to turn intangible before Danny's teeth could make contact; in turn causing the teen to go through him. "Are you mad?" Vlad yelled in disbelief, grasping his throat and quickly standing up.

Danny jumped away as his now furious enemy attempted to capture him. Unfortunately, he didn't move far enough and Vlad managed to grab his tail. The young badger yelped loudly and tried to bite the man's hand, but Vlad yanked him backwards, preventing it. "You are just asking for punishment" he growled, not letting go of the teen's tail.

Danny refused to get captured again; he was going to get out of here if it was the last thing he did.

Vlad gasped as he suddenly lost grip of the teen…in a way he never expected. "You have your ghost powers?" he asked, still not believing the teen had _phased_ out of his hold.

Danny ignored him and ran away from the man. Vlad quickly followed after. "So that's how you got out of the enclosure last night. If you have had your powers all this time, why haven't you escaped already?" he asked perplexed, although he knew he was not going to get an answer.

Danny hid, observing Vlad's every movement from behind a large vase. _"Okay, so I just have to trigger my instincts to get my powers to respond; I'll run at the door so that the only way to avoid getting hurt is to phase through…I hope it works, but first, I have distract Vlad."_ As the billionaire approached, the teenage badger crouched into a pouncing position, his eyes narrowing in a predatory-like fashion.

The minute the man's back was to him, Danny pounced. He climbed up Vlad's leg to reach his back._ "You made a mistake in turning me into a badger, Vlad and I'm going to prove it." _With a snarl, he bit down on the man's shoulder blade and dug his claws in his back. Vlad yelped in pain. Luckily, his thick suit kept the teen from causing major damage, but if he didn't get him off, there wasn't going to be a suit.

Vlad whirled around, attempting to get a hold of the teen. He forced himself not to slam against the wall, because despite everything, he didn't want to cause the teen permanent harm. The moment Vlad attempted to turn intangible he felt a wave of weakness wash over him, collapsing him to his knees.

Danny let go of Vlad and ran towards the door, only to find three pair of feet standing in his path. Danny froze as his eyes went upwards. Right away he saw several images flash through his mind. When they were over his head pounded but he knew who the three people were.

"_Jazz? Sam? Tucker?"_ he chirped.

* * *

Cliff hanger, I know. But I decided to end it here, not to be evil, but to be less evil, because if I ended it where I first planned…well…let's just say it would have been worse. Well, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter; I'll read and reply to everyone's response when I return. If you haven't read my one-shot, I recently wrote, please do and let me know what you think; I'm going to be writing another one, but I think it will be a two shot, so look out for that one later today. Thanks for the support guys; it really motivates me to work hard on these stories….and with that I bid you all a fond farewell! 


	9. Chapter 9: Instinctual Battle

**Chapter 9: Instinctual Battle **

"So, how are we doing this?" Tucker asked.

"I haven't figured that out yet." Sam admitted as she looked up at Vlad's large mansion coming into view.

"Well, we can't stroll through the front door. By the looks of it, he's home. We're going to have to sneak in through a window or back door." Jazz stated, her grip on the Fenton Peeler tightening as they got closer.

"I wouldn't be so sure, Jazz. The ghost finder isn't picking up any ghosts. If Vlad's home wouldn't it pick him up? It picks up Danny." Tucker said with a frown, his gaze to the instrument in his hand.

Jazz's eyebrows creased in thought. "Either that or he has some sort of device to mask his signature." she replied.

"Why do you think that?" Sam asked, placing the Fenton thermos in her spider shaped backpack.

"Bang!"

All three teens stared at one another after hearing the sound that had come from within the billionaire's home. In a flash, they ran up to the door allowing them to hear more sounds, including Vlad's muffled shouts. There was clearly a fight ocurring inside.

Sam quickly grabbed the door handle only to discover the door was protected with a heavy lock.

"Tucker, we have to get in there! Danny has to be in there!" Sam exclaimed.

"Move Sam, it's a password lock; I can get it open." Tucker informed, pulling out his PDA.

Sam moved away and ran over to a window in hopes of finding it unlocked. Sadly, that wasn't the case and the thick curtains hid the commotion within. "Tucker, hurry!" Jazz urged, watching him hook up a wire from his PDA to a small box above the door handle.

"I almost got it." Tucker replied, typing furiously on his PDA.

"Ugh! I can't see anything! Hurry up, Tucker!" Sam yelled.

"Would you two chill, I'm going as fast-"

"Beep-Beep-Beep. Welcome back, Mayor Masters." A computerized voice said, before the door unlocked with a click.

"Tucker, you're the best! Remind me to tell Danny I take back all the things I said about you." Jazz remarked with a quick smile before bursting through the door.

"Huh? What did you…" Tucker trailed off at seeing Vlad Masters supporting himself on his hands and knees. The man looked like he had just had a fight with a paper shredder and lost.

The three teens' eyes widen further when a small animal jumped off Vlad and ran straight towards them. With a yelp, it stopped dead in its tracks and avoided a collision with their feet. The badger's gaze slowly rose to meet theirs.

They watched as the creature's blue eyes widen as it made noises that reminded them of bird chirps.

Jazz, Sam and Tucker's stupor was broken when a hand quickly lifted the creature by the scruff of the neck and away from them. "What the blazes are you three doing in my house?!" Vlad demanded, glaring at all three teens.

Jazz stared confused at the small mammal. Was all that noise due to this one creature? She looked around the disheveled house and then back at the disheveled billionaire. "What is that?" she asked slowly.

Vlad looked down at the still Danny in his hand, his eyes narrowing. "It's a badger and I'm on the verge of shipping him off to a zoo." He replied darkly.

"A badger?" Sam repeated affronted. "Aren't those wild animals?"

"Yes, they are" Vlad agreed, his glare not leaving the blue eyed badger.

Danny stared up at him before looking at his friends and sister. _"Darn it, I shouldn't have let him catch me. What am I suppose to do now? Jazz, it's me; Danny. You have to recognize me."_ He said softly. Unfortunately, Vlad's hold kept him calm and unmoving.

Sam placed a hand on her hip. "You're sick, Vlad. You can't keep a wild animal as a pet! They need to roam free; it's probably an endangered species!"

Vlad turned his attention to the miffed girl and gave her a bored look. "What I do and keep doesn't concern you." He then smirked. "But yes, it is endangered." Vlad lifted Danny in front of them so they could get a good look at him. "Blue eyed badger. Only one of its kind and his mine, aren't you little badger?" he teased, turning Danny to face him.

All Danny could do was chitter. He knew what the man was doing. He was trying to prove to him that there was nothing he could do to get out of this. They would never realize it's him.

Tucker nudged Sam "Now I get why Danny calls him a fruit loop." he whispered. "I bet you five nasty burgers he named it Danny." He added.

Tucker went stiff as Vlad's eyes snapped towards him. He was sure the man was going to waste him on the spot, but instead, he laughed! "Why yes, Mr. Foley. His name is Danny." He informed with an amused grin. "Would…you like to hold him?" he asked calmly, lifting Danny up towards them once more.

Tucker gave Vlad a baffled look before his eyes went to the chittering badger. "Uh, if he did all… _that_ to you, no thanks." he replied, clearly crept out.

Jazz sighed in annoyance. "Look, can we forget the badger? We're trying to find Danny, remember?" she told the two teens next to her.

"_No, don't forget the badger."_ Danny pleaded. _"I need to get her attention." _

Jazz looked down at the badger at hearing it purr. "Well, isn't that sweet? He likes you Jasmine." Vlad said with a wicked smile.

"With an owner like you, I'm sure he likes everyone!" Sam snapped.

Vlad gave her an irritated look. "Listen here-

"Where's Danny, Vlad?" Jazz cut off.

Vlad rested Danny on the palm of his hand, but kept a grip on his neck with the other. "Tsk Tsk. Daniel is still missing? That's terrible. …I'm curious, have you told your parents?" Vlad inquired, lightly scratching the top of the teen's head with a finger as he spoke.

Danny had to fight with everything he had to keep his eyes open. He didn't understand why the man's action was making him extremely tired.

"No, they don't know yet, but when they do…I'll make sure they know who's responsible for his disappearance." Jazz assured angrily.

Vlad laughed full heartedly. "And what will you say, Jasmine? That I'm the Wisconsin ghost and that your brother is the ghost boy, Danny Phantom?

Everyone's attention went to the badger at hearing him whimper. Danny felt like his head was going to explode the moment Vlad reminded him of their ghostly identities. This time, however, there were no flashes of memories; just pain. Sam glowered once more. "You need to let that poor animal go. It's obviously sick. Look how scrawny it is!"

Danny looked at her. _"Thanks Sam; that's a real confidence booster." _He said sarcastically.

Vlad hissed as his headache resurfaced. He quickly hid his discomfort with a glare. "I don't have time to entertain you three. Daniel is not here, Jasmine, so if you would kindly take your leave."

"_No. Jazz, don't go. I'm right here."_ Danny said, forcing himself to wiggle a bit in the man's hold. Vlad immediately suspended him once more, causing the chirping teen to limp once more.

"Alright." Jazz said softly. "Danny's not here, but you can help us find him."

Vlad raised an eyebrow. "Why should I?"

"Because, despite what you do, I know you care for him, Vlad. You have a lot of connections. There must be something you can do! Please, help us find him!" Jazz said desperately.

"You confuse care with interest, dear girl, and at the moment, I have no interest in finding Daniel. So, with that said, I will _ask_ you one final time to leave." He replied coldly.

"You're heartless." Jazz whispered hatefully.

Vlad smiled calmly and patted the girl on the head. "Thank your father for that." He whispered darkly.

Jazz stared angrily at him for a moment longer before turning and heading towards the door. Sam and Tucker stood there, unsure of what to do. A pointed look from Vlad soon helped them decide.

They left towards the door, but Sam briefly halted. "As soon as we find Danny, I'm going to do everything I can to make you return that creature to the forest, were it belongs." She assured the billionaire.

Vlad huffed amused. "Trust me, Ms. Manson, you do not want him in a forest."

Sam frowned. "Why not?"

Vlad lifted the teen to his eye level. "Because, he's too weak to defend himself." He replied.

Sam was appalled by his words. Did he mean weak as in malnourished? The gothic girl was about to protest when Tucker grabbed her arm and dragged her towards the door. "Sam, will you forget that thing." He said annoyed.

"Don't worry little guy, I'll help you!" Sam guaranteed before leaving.

Vlad stared at the closed door before looking back at the badger. "Was that convincing enough for you, Daniel? You were right in front of them and they did not even spare you more then a glance. They can not help you and if you still think otherwise, know this:" Vlad brought Danny up to his eye level. "Only I can undo the wish and your behavior is not moving me into doing so!" He hissed, his grasp on the teen's neck becoming painfully tight.

"_Look, I'm sorry. You've had your fun. You've humiliated me in everyway possible. You win, okay? Please, just change me back."_

Vlad gazed at the badger; the sounds he was making sounded yielding and his lowered ears confirmed his suspicions. The teen was admitting defeat.

Vlad sighed. He had to admit to himself he was tired of this game. Somehow humiliating the boy was not as satisfying as he had believed it would be. Maybe it was time he called Desiree…

"Are you hungry, Daniel?" Vlad asked calmly.

Danny looked up at him; the man's tone confused him. Danny lowered his eyes once more and shook his head.

Vlad stared at the sad badger a moment longer before lowering him into his palm and releasing his hold around his neck. To say that Vlad's actions surprised Danny would be an understatement. He soon dismissed it, however, but stayed perfectly still as the man carried him towards the kitchen.

He placed the teen down on the table and spoke. "Listen closely, Daniel." Vlad briefly paused, clearly trying to choose his words carefully. "Today isn't one of my best days, so I'm in no mood to fight with you or anyone else. I won't lock you up, but no more games, alright?" he asked calmly

Danny sighed. He wasn't planning on doing anything anyways. He was too upset to try and escape again. Danny nodded in response.

Vlad gave him a quick pat on the head, this time not in a teasing way, but with actual affection, before turning away from him.

He removed his shredded jacket and placed it on the counter. The billionaire quietly hissed as he rolled up his white sleeves and inspected the scratches and bites he had received from Danny. Luckily, he healed quickly so none of them needed any special care. They were just painful. Dismissing his injuries, he went to the fridge and opened it.

Danny sat with his shoulders and ears lowered. _"I'm going to stay like this for the rest of my life."_ He moved his gaze back to Vlad. _"Jazz's right, he is heartless."_

Danny's ears perked as his nose caught scent of something very appetizing. It was the smell from breakfast. _"Go find out what it is." _His instincts whispered.

Danny shook his head, unaware that his eyes had flashed brown. _"No, I told Vlad I wouldn't move."_ He told himself, trying to push away his curiosity. His eyes flashed once more before they narrowed daringly _"…well not really, I said I would behave. I can find out what that smell is without getting in trouble. He did ask me if I was hungry and now I am."_ He rationalized.

Danny nodded in agreement with himself, before running over to the chair to make his way down.

Vlad pulled out a jar of lemonade. He was so deep in thought he didn't notice the badger next to his feet. He was thinking of how to locate the ghost genie. There was no doubt in his mind that she was in the human plain. He had let her back out and he knew that no ghost would turn down an opportunity to have some fun and gain power. _"Blast, I will have to look for her myself."_ He thought with irritation, pouring a glass of lemonade and taking a drink. He leaned against the counter and immediately noticed Danny was not on the table.

Before Vlad's rage could explode, scratching and cracking noises, coming from within his open fridge, caught his attention.

Vlad glared at the badger sitting inside a container full of eggs. "Daniel!" he shouted pulling out the bowl of eggs.

Danny's attention snapped towards Vlad. _"I'm not doing anything! I just wanted to find this."_ He stated, his eyes going back to the eggs he was currently crushing under his weight.

The badger's excited chitters turned Vlad's anger into irritation. He lifted the teen out of the bowl and placed him back on the table. Danny happily licked the sticky yoke from his front paws, while watching the billionaire head to the far side of the kitchen.

Vlad soon came back and began removing the eggs that were not broken and placing them in a new bowl. "I thought you weren't hungry." He said annoyed, before noticing Danny licking his paws. "And don't do that, it's unsanitary." He added in the same tone of voice, before throwing a cloth on top of the teen. "Use a napkin." He ordered, grabbing the soiled bowl.

Danny poked his head out from under the napkin and looked at Vlad's retreating form with confusion. _"What's this? A toy?"_ he wondered in a playful demeanor. The young badger grabbed the cloth in his mouth and shook it vigorously, before rolling on his back and "battling" with it. Danny didn't understand how he had gone from done right depressed to overly happy, but he was too…happy to care.

"Meow"

Danny immediately got to his feet and scanned the room for the cat. Vlad too watched as Maddie came in, before turning his eyes back to washing the bowl in his hand.

Danny's hair heightened. _"I don't like that thing." _He thought angrily. He watched as the cat approach Vlad and rub at his legs. The moment the cat noticed the badger, however, she left Vlad's side and approached him.

Vlad didn't notice his cat's departure and Danny made no sound to alert him of it. The teen simply sat at the edge of the table and calmly watched with narrowed eyes as Maddie neared. Effortlessly, the cat leapt on the table.

Vlad opened the cabinet to place the bowl inside, but when he suddenly heard a snarl and a yowl, he jumped and dropped the bowl. He spun around in time to see his cat dash out of the kitchen.

Baffled, Vlad slowly turned his eyes towards the hissing teen. "Daniel" he said slowly, getting the teen's attention. "What did you do to Maddie?" he asked cautiously.

Danny moved his eyes away from the man and walked over to the egg bowl. _"You mean the cat? She was in my space. I just warned her to back off. Next time, it won't be a warning."_ He growled.

All Vlad heard was growling of course, but he kept his eyes fixed on the teen. There was no doubt this time; the teen's eyes had flashed brown. He watched as the Danny carefully pulled out an egg from the bowl, using his paws and snout. Strikingly, he got it on the table without breaking it. The teen rolled the egg over to the napkin, then settled down on said napkin, before grasping the egg with his two front paws and studying it intently.

Vlad approached the badger without saying a word. He stood next to him, taking in the younger half ghost's actions with an unreadable expression.

Holding the egg in place, Danny tilted his head and skillfully cracked the egg with his fangs. Vlad's jaw dropped as the teen nudged off the top of the egg like a bottle cap. "That's… impressive." Vlad said, clearly too stumped to think of anything else to say at what he was witnessing.

Danny placed his thin snout into the opening he had made and began eating the contents inside. "Daniel" he called softly, but he was ignored.

The billionaire forced himself out of his stupor, although disbelief was still clearly on his expression. "Daniel" he called in his usual tone of voice.

This time, the teen looked up, his blue eyes flashing brown yet again. _"What?"_ he asked, before going back to his lunch.

"W-Why don't you let me cook those for you? You can not possibly like them raw." He said, warily grasping the egg the teen had in his hold.

Danny growled the moment the man touched the egg, causing Vlad to quickly let go. _"It's mine; get your own."_

"Alright, so you like them that way." Vlad said nervously. If this had occurred when he first turned the teen into a badger, he would have laughed heartedly; now… it wasn't remotely funny. Vlad suddenly moaned at feeling a wave a weakness wash over him.

Danny looked up at him for a moment, his eyes now a solid brown. Unfortunately, the man was too dazed to notice. _"You're dying" _the teen informed carelessly. He pushed the empty egg aside and headed over to the bowl for another one.

Vlad grabbed a chair and sat down, while Danny worked on his egg. "Do you realize how strange you're acting?" he asked, studying the teen for a reaction. There was none.

Vlad shook his head to clear his vision. _"So he is acting like a real badger…alright, I suppose it's expected when you're turned into one."_ He analyzed, trying to suppress his worry at the situation. _"Well, it isn't anything that can't be fixed. I'll just undo the wish; there isn't anything to worry about."_ He told himself.

He stood but supported himself heavily on the table. "Except for this." He whispered. _"This is by far normal…Could it also be due to the wish? …No, it isn't possible; the wish was against Daniel…" _Vlad turned his attention back to Danny who was on his forth egg. "Daniel, I think that's enough. You're going to make yourself sick." He reprimanded, moving his hand to remove the egg from him.

The teen snarled at him this time. Vlad glared, knowing from previous experience what the sound meant. He slapped the badger's muzzle causing him to yelp.

Danny immediately jumped to his feet, his blue eyes nervously darting around_. "What… Hey! Why did you hit me?"_ he hissed furiously once he regained his senses.

"I'm not going to tolerate you biting me over an egg." Vlad snapped, snatching the egg away from the teen.

"_What are you talking about? I was never going to bite you and that's my first-"_ Danny dropped his aggressive posture when his eyes fell upon three empty shells. He didn't recall eating that many.

Before he could ponder on it any longer, Vlad picked him up. "What's wrong now?" he asked the chittering badger.

Danny lowered his ears at the question. _"Everything's wrong."_

"Let's sit down for a moment." Vlad said abruptly in a breathless tone. He entered a family room and placed the badger down on the couch before sitting down himself.

Danny sadly gazed at his enemy, who was currently leaning forward with his head in his hands._"I shouldn't feel sorry for you…"_ the teen sighed before approaching the billionaire. _"Vlad"_ he called, getting the man's attention. _"Are… you okay?"_

Vlad gazed at the cooing badger with perplexity. Danny nudged his hand. _"You look really sick. I don't think I'm the only one that's in trouble."_ He told him dejectedly, wishing more then ever that he could talk.

The teen's attitude and the sounds he was making slowly made the man realize what he was asking. Vlad turned his gaze away from Danny. "Dear boy, you can not possibly be concerned for me." He said calmly.

Danny's ears lowered, but his cooing was still present. _"Just because you're a jerk, doesn't mean I wish anything bad to happen to you."_ He said honestly.

Vlad turned his eyes back to Danny but didn't say anything; instead he ruffled his head, like a father does to a young son. The young badger purred at the man's affection, unaware of his eyes flashing brown, but he was aware of himself slowly losing self awareness…just like he had a few minutes ago in the kitchen.

Vlad raised an eyebrow as Danny nudged his hand in a very different manner. A manner his cat took on when she wanted attention. "How are _you_ feeling, Daniel?" Vlad asked warily, softly patting his head.

"_Change me back."_ Danny pleaded, his flashing eyes becoming half lidded.

Vlad sighed in annoyance. "I should have wished to understand you…"

The young badger suddenly jumped on the man's lap before curling up and closing his brown eyes. Vlad frowned at the teen's actions. "Daniel…what…" The badger cooed, clearly asking for affection. Vlad shook his head, but gave the young badger what he wanted. He stared at the teen with sad eyes. Why was it only under drastic situations that he could get the boy to stop looking at him like an enemy?

"You know, I never planned to keep you this way. I want you as my son, not as my pet." He said dejectedly. Vlad felt his head spin. He closed his eyes in order to focus them, but this time, they didn't focus. "I-I need to find Desiree." He said softly, moving the teen off him and standing.

Danny squeaked at the sudden movement. He shook his head, his brown eyes fading blue once more. The young badger stood in alarm when Vlad suddenly gasped loudly and clutched his chest. _"Vlad?" _Danny called warily, staring at the pale billionaire.

"D-Daniel" Vlad wheezed. "Don't m-

"_Vlad!"_ Danny exclaimed at witnessing him fall to ground unconscious. The teen jumped off the couch and ran towards his arch enemy. _"Vlad!" _he called once more, touching his arm with his paws. He climbed up on him and stood on his chest. _"Wake up!"_ Danny barked nervously, nudging him the best he could

Danny chittered. The man was alive; he could feel Vlad's heartbeat under his sensitive paws. The young badger's instincts, however, screamed the man wouldn't be alive for long. He didn't want to even attempt to guess how he knew that. He could just…sense it.

Danny stared at the deathly pale man, his ears lowered in apprehension. _"What am I suppose to do? What the heck's wrong with him, anyways?" _He stared around, before recalling his own dilemma. _"Hey, this is my chance to get to Jazz."_ He realized.

Danny gazed at Vlad. His instincts told him to stay with him; they yelled he was safe here, but his own logic reminded him that the man was evil and that the only way he was going to get out of this mess was to find those that cared for him. Danny hesitantly climbed off Vlad's form. _"If I find Jazz, I can get her to help Vlad too" _he reasoned, hoping it would help him fight his instincts. They might have saved him several times, but these weren't his human instincts. They were animal instincts and the more he listened, the harder it was to recall he was human. Danny shut his eyes at feeling them blur. In reality, they had flashed brown. _"No, I can't stay here." _He told himself determinately. He gave Vlad one more look and cooed sadly before running as fast as he could out of the room. He ignored Maddie, who was hiding under a small table, right outside the hallway. _"I can't stay here."_ He repeated as he fought the urge to attack the cat and keep it away from Vlad. He finally halted once he reached the front door. He panted heavily as he stared at it. He already knew what he had to do to get out. The problem was his idea was dangerous. _"If this doesn't work, I'm going to be really sore_." He thought as he ran, away from the door. Once he was far enough, he turned towards it. His instincts warned him not to go through with this, but he pushed them aside. _"The only way I can keep myself from getting hurt is to phase through the door." _He took a large breath before charging at full speed towards the closed door. He felt fear swell within him the closer he got to the thick door.

Inches from it, he shut his eyes.

Danny yelped as a tingling sensation passed through him, before he felt himself hit something hard and roll down it. He slowly stood with a pained whimper and looked up. He stared wide eyed at the front door of Vlad's mansion…from the outside. _"I did it."_ Danny said in disbelief. His blue eyes brightened and he jumped in happiness. _"Yes! I did it!"_ he exclaimed. He turned and stared excitedly at the outside world. His excitement soon vanished. _"Oh man, everything's…huge."_ He squeaked.

He wanted to run back inside but he forced himself to think logically through this. _"I can do this. I just gotta find Jazz."_ He told himself. His eyes narrowed in determination, before he took off, away from Vlad's house.

* * *

Hello everyone; For those who have not been on my DA account, I would like to say I missed you all! I'm out of school so that means more time to work on writing! Well, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. I will tell you, I had a severe writer's block with it. I'm not happy with it, because it wasn't what I wanted. I don't know why, but not writing for two weeks has affected me. Hopefully, it doesn't show too bad in this chapter...if so, forgive me, hopefully, my writer's block will be cleared by next Saturday! Thanks again for all you're nice and helpful reviews. I will never be able to express how happy they make me. As always I look forward to hearing from you guys. I think this chapter has helped you guys realize what's happening to Danny; as for Vlad...you'll have to wait and see! Ta! 


	10. Chapter 10: Everything comes at a Price

**Chapter 10: Everything comes at a price**

Jazz activated the ghost portal and placed the Fenton Thermos into the releasing unit. "I think I should tell my parents the truth." Jazz said soberly, watching the thermos empty. Her mom was not home and she knew why. She had gone to find Danny at the school and seeing that her father wasn't home either meant she told him what was happening. Problem was they weren't going to find their son.

"Tell them what, Jazz? I hate to admit it but Vlad's right. How are we going to explain to your parents that we think something happened to Danny and that Vlad's somehow involved, without exposing them both?" Sam argued.

"Then what do you think we should do, huh? He has been missing since yesterday morning! I said I would keep his secret, but not if it means something happening to him!" she shouted back.

"Jazz, Sam's right. Telling your parents should be our last resort. If you tell them…" Tucker sighed.

"You'll change his entire life, Jazz" Sam ended sadly.

Jazz shook her head, before walking out of the lab. "We all know my parents would accept him."

"We're not worried about your parents, Jazz. We're worried about Vlad. If we reveal the truth, you can be sure Vlad will destroy Danny's life in everyway possible!" Sam assured angrily.

"Alright" Jazz replied after a moment "We'll keep looking for him, but I'm not lying to my parents any longer. When they come back, I'm going to tell them we haven't seen Danny since yesterday." she informed softly before opening the fridge.

Tucker and Sam sat down at the table, while Jazz pulled out cups from the kitchen cabinet. They gave each other a sad look at seeing Jazz quivering. She clearly was trying to keep herself from crying. Sam sighed. "Jazz-"

"Where is he?!" the worried sister shouted, turning around and revealing her tear streaked face. "We've looked everywhere!"

"We'll find him, Jazz" Tucker assured.

Jazz wiped her eyes. "I'm so afraid for him. Everything he does…I'm afraid one day he won't come home. What if this is that one day?" she asked fearfully.

Sam stood angrily. "Don't even think something like that!"

Tucker stood and placed a hand on Sam's trembling shoulder. "Jazz, look, we worry for him too, but Danny's a lot stronger then you give him credit for. I'm sure wherever he is he's fighting tooth and nail to get back." Tucker said confidently. Jazz smiled sadly and nodded in agreement.

* * *

"_Heh, I should have thought this through, maybe then I would have remembered that I have no clue where I live." _Danny sat beside a small bush, boringly watching the people that walked by.

After constantly getting screamed at and shooed, he decided to keep out of view the best he could. _"I don't get it; why do people keep calling me a rat? Where the heck have they seen a rat with a fluffy tail and a black and white face?"_ He wondered annoyed.

Bird sounds quickly directed Danny's blue eyes to the sky. _"Man, I'm hungry. Running around takes a lot out of you."_ The young badger stood and scanned his surroundings. Seeing no one near by, he moved away from the bush and continued down the sidewalk. He curiously surveyed the various doors and windows on his left. Within them he could see people moving about. Some searched through different articles, others were eating and talking to one another, and others seem to be busy, judging by the look of pure concentration on their faces. Right then, a group of people stepped out of one of the buildings.

"Ooo. This necklace is going to look great with my pink and white dress!" A girl with a high pitched voice squealed.

"I love that dress!" Another complimented.

"Well that jersey I bought is going to look cool under my football gear!" A boy with blond hair beamed.

Danny tilted his head. In his state of confusion he ignored his instincts that told him to flee and just stood there. _"Huh? They sure look familiar. Do I know them?"_ He wondered He actually did, because the people he had in front of him were Paulina, Star, Quan, and Dash.

"Hey, what's that?" Quan asked, finally noticing Danny.

"Ah! It's a rat!" Both girls shrieked at once.

Danny cringed at the sound, before glaring. _"I'm not a rat, I'm a badger!"_

"I never heard a rat growl" Quan murmured quizzically.

"I never seen one that big" Dash added just as bewildered. The football player then smirked cruelly at Danny. "You know what? My dog would love to _play_ with it. Come on Quan, help me grab it." Dash asked, slowly approaching the badger.

"Uh…I don't know. Don't those things have rabies or something?" Quan replied unsure.

"Dude, what are you, a wimp? It's just a dumb animal!" Dash said with disgust.

"I'm no wimp!" Quan assured. He quickly went around Danny, effectively cutting off his escape route from the other side.

Danny's attention moved between the two boys surrounding him. _"Whatever these guys want, it can't be good. Back off, you really don't want to mess with me."_ The teen warned.

Dash stopped his approach at hearing the "rat" barking. "Hey, do rats bark?" he asked out loud, scratching his head.

"I don't know but I'm pretty sure they don't have fangs." Quan said, obviously nervous.

Dash glared at the creature. He was not about to be intimidated by a lower life form. He quickly approached and reached down in attempt to grab the badger by the tail.

Big Mistake.

Catching his intentions, Danny whirled around with awing speed and bit down on Dash's arm. Luckily, the jock was wearing his football jacket, so all the badger's teeth ripped off was a piece of leather. "Ah! My jacket!" Dash exclaimed, taking several steps away from the growling animal.

"_No one touches my tail!"_ Danny snarled menacingly, his eyes rapidly flashing between brown and blue.

Dash, Quan, Paulina, and Star, let out high pitch screams as Danny charged at them with bare teeth. "That thing's crazy!" Dash exclaimed. "Let's get out of here!"

All four ran as fast as their legs could carry them, but it wasn't fast enough to escape the very angry Danny. _"Oh no you don't! You ticked me off, now you're going to accept the consequences!"_ he threatened darkly, quickly closing in on the fleeing teenagers. Danny nipped at Paulina's heel, causing the girl to shriek in fright and drop her shopping bag.

Suddenly, Danny's flashing brown eyes widen and he halted his pursuit. He watched the four teens run across a street and towards a heavy forested area. The badger gazed around apprehensively as he attempted to figure out why his mind screamed danger to him. His answer soon came in the form of a large object zooming down the street. Danny yelped in alarm and hid in a near by bush.

He cautiously poked his head out and observed several more of these large, strange objects zoomed down the street.

"Honk!"

Danny whimpered at the loud sound one of them made as it sped by. _"What are these things?" _he questioned fearfully. He knew one thing: they were dangerous.

Danny warily left the bush and moved away from the now busy street. _"I better stay close to the doors. People I can handle…those things…" _He chittered nervously before quickly heading back to the sidewalk. He gave the street fleeting glances at noticing what was on the other side of it. _"I would be safer in that forest"_ He pondered worriedly. The "forest" was actually the park, but to the badger, it was shelter.

"Grr"

Danny froze, his ears lowering as he stared at a very large brown dog. "Ah! Trixie! No!" The owner exclaimed as her dog yanked the leash from her grip and ran at the young badger.

Danny yelped as the dog attempted to snap him in half. In blind fear, he dashed into the first shelter he could find; an open door.

He soon realized this was far from shelter. Screams erupted from the customers inside the store at seeing a very large "rat" and a snarling dog running around.

Danny yelped as he barely dodged several objects being thrown at him. "Get outta here you crazy animals!"

Danny gasped as the dog appeared in front of him. He quickly turned around, narrowly avoiding the dog's large teeth and ran towards the exit.

He continued to run, his eyes frantically searching for somewhere to hide. _"Why is it that everywhere I go I end up being attacked by something?" _Danny ran inside a flower hedge and shrunk as far inside as he could.

"No! Trixie! Bad dog! Leave that poor raccoon alone!"

"_Well, at least she didn't call me a rat."_ He mused dryly. His demeanor quickly changed when the bushes started to move around violently. The dog snarled as it scratched and bit through the hedge in an attempt to reach the hidden badger within. Danny curled up, realizing he was trapped. _"Help"_ he thought, scared beyond belief.

Danny wailed as the dog's large snout reached him. Not having any other alternative, he slapped the dog's muzzle causing it to back away in alarm. Danny wasted no time in using the small window to escape the death trap. Overwhelmed with panic, the teen ran into the street, completely forgetting how dangerous it was. He soon recalled, however, when a loud honk came from the car coming straight at him. Danny eyes widen and his body froze in complete terror.

Even after the car came to a screeching halt, followed by several others, he still did not move. Danny didn't understand what had happened. All he knew is that he should be dead.

The person that had halted his car in front of the teen stepped out. "Shoo little guy, you don't want to be in the middle of the street when the light turns green again." He said gently.

The man's voice brought the frozen badger's senses back and without a hesitation he ran across the rest of the street. Danny kept running, heading deeper into the heavy forested area. Quickly, he chose a tall tree and efficiently climbed it.

Danny finally slowed down when he reached a nicely hidden area of the tree. He crawled in between several tree branches before curling up within the leaves. He breathed heavily while his brown eyes darted from side to side.

Several minutes later, he calmed down enough to regain rational thought. _"I don't Ever want to do that again." _He decided nervously.

His blue eyes studied his surroundings and he slowly realized he had climbed up a tree. _"Oh man, not again"_ he thought angrily. _"How is it that I do all these crazy things without realizing it?"_ He sighed. _"What's worse is that I have no way of finding Jazz…I don't even know how to get back to Vlad's house from all the turns I made." _Danny chittered sadly _"I shouldn't have left."_

The badger's ear twitched at hearing chirps. He glanced up and his eyes locked onto a nest with baby chicks inside. His stomach grumbled.

Danny's eyes flashed before he squeezed them shut. "No_, I am not attacking defenseless chicks" _He told himself firmly The teen quickly climbed higher up the tree, but away from the nest. Finding a large branch to rest on, he curled up once more. He yawned, his exhaustion evident. He had been sleep deprived all day.

Danny watched a lizard scurry by and run into a small hole. His eyes narrowed in a predatory manner before he slowly stood up. He might have enough self control to keep himself from attacking defenseless chicks, but it wasn't enough to keep him from going after such lively prey.

He hid from sight as the lizard came back out. It slowly approached a grasshopper and Danny slowly approached both. _"Look at that, dinner And dessert." _He thought darkly before pouncing.

* * *

Vlad moaned as he slowly sat up. He held his head in his hands, waiting for his vision to stop spinning. "Ugh, what happened? I feel like I just got battered by Pariah Dark" he whispered.

Suddenly, the man gasped and got to his feet. "Daniel?" he asked, looking down at his couch. He quickly threw off the pillows, hoping the teen had fallen asleep within them. "Daniel" he called again, glancing around the room.

Vlad forced his body to move. He felt so weak, but at the moment it was last thing on his mind. "Daniel, where are you?" he asked, searching the room

Dread quickly swelled in the pit of the man's stomach. "Daniel, come out. Remember what you agreed to. No more games." He stated, kneeling down and looking under his coffee table.

"Meow"

Vlad's attention quickly went to his cat and he paled. "Maddie" He picked up the white cat and stared at her with wide eyes. "You didn't eat him, did you?" he asked fearfully.

"Meow" she responded before purring at him.

Vlad set her down, before grabbing the bridge of his nose and breathing deeply. "No, that's absurd; there would be a…mess." The billionaire cringed at the mental image, but promptly vanished it away. "Blast! He has to be here….the kitchen!"

Vlad walked hurriedly towards his kitchen and searched for the teen. Again, there was no Danny. Vlad momentarily grabbed the counter to steady himself as he took a strained breath of air. "I do not have the energy for this" he whispered tiredly. "but I must find him"

Vlad summoned his ghost half, knowing he could cover more territory in that form. The teen had to be somewhere in his house. Unfortunately, the moment the black spectral rings appeared, they vanished.

Vlad groaned, before his legs gave in and he fell to the floor. His attempt had left him so drained his arms were shaking under his weight. "What's wrong with me?" he asked, this time fear dominating his words.

After a few minutes, the half ghost got to his feet and headed up the stairs. He needed pain killers for his massive headache. The man entered his bathroom and turned on the faucet. He splashed cool water on his face in hopes of getting rid of his faint feeling. The man grabbed a near by hand towel and dried his face, while his eyes moved towards his reflection on the mirror.

Vlad's eyes widen and his jaw dropped in fear. The man stumbled backwards causing himself to trip and fall. He quickly stood up and stared at his reflection once more. Vlad breathed heavily as he lifted a shaky hand to his face before moving it towards his ponytail. He slowly removed the band, allowing his hair to fall on the side of his face. He grabbed several strands of hair and stared at them in the mirror, before looking directly at them. "T-This can't b-be" he said, panic lining his voice as he stared at the black strands of hair in his hand. Vlad grabbed more hair and found he still had patches of hair that were the same silvery white they had been for the past 21 years. They were there but black was now the dominant color, not only on the hair on his head, but also on his facial hair.

Vlad quickly stripped from his clothing and jumped in the shower. He frantically poured shampoo on his hair, promptly discovering that his problem was everywhere. He scrubbed furiously, hoping that this was Danny's doing. He wanted nothing more then for this to be some sort of prank. It wasn't.

Minutes later the man gave up. He tiredly got dressed, before slouching on his bed. Vlad didn't recall the last time he was this scared and confused. How in the world did his life turn this chaotic in the span of two days?

He placed his head in his hands for a moment, before lowering them. He took a deep breath and stood. "There must be an explanation for all this." He was a smart and logical person; surely he could figure this out. "I have been slowly deteriorating these past two days… both my sides." He added, remembering his energy kept turning blue (a weaker form of ecto-energy). "Now, my powers are not responding, I'm feeling extremely faint, and my hair is turning black…like it used to be before the accident."

Vlad's eyes widen, before he slowly sat back down. "I'm losing my ghost powers" he whispered. "But how?!" he said angrily, standing up and walking out of the room.

"Daniel!" he yelled loudly. "Where the blazes are you, you little rat!" Vlad grabbed the rails angrily; clearly his fear had become rage.

"This started two days ago…" Vlad's eyes narrowed, before storming down the stairs. "That wench has just sealed her demise!" he assured darkly. He didn't know what Desiree had done, but it had to be her doing. There was no other explanation.

Vlad opened a drawer and pulled out a device that resembled the Fenton Ghost Finder. Vlad turned it on, several beeps emitting from the device. He hooked it up to a computer before booting it. "Loacate Desiree, the wishing ghost." He asked.

A hologram of Maddie appeared and smiled. "Right away, sweet cheeks." It replied, moving around several nods.

Vlad watched as the computer showed the entire layout of Amity Park. "Sorry pumpkin, but Desiree is not in Amity Park." Maddie informed.

"Carmel Pies!" he cursed. "Search near by towns." He requested angrily.

Minutes later "Maddie" turned to Vlad. "The radar is not picking up her signature, dove."

Vlad slammed his hand on the control panel, causing the screen to cackle. "oppsy!" Maddie said with a giggle as Vlad walked out of the lab.

"This is wonderful! I lost Daniel _and_ that wretched ghost!" The billionaire fumed. He shut his eyes at seeing his vision spin. Vlad bit his lower lip, ignoring how cold it felt. "I must find Daniel, but for his sake and mine I need to get to the bottom of this. I truly hope Desiree is not in the Ghost Zone, but that's the only place left for her to be."

Vlad stayed in thought a moment longer, his eyebrows scrunched in worry and anger. "Daniel, if you can hear me, come out! If you do, I'll change you back; you have my word." Vlad said loudly, before silencing in hopes of hearing any form of noise. There was none.

"Maybe not the most convincing words." He mumbled, knowing that his word meant nothing to the teen. With one more worried look around, he turned and headed towards his lab once more. He had a horrible feeling that the boy was not in his house anymore, but he pushed it away. He needed to stay calm if he was going to solve his dilemma.

Vlad opened the portal, but didn't enter. "I need my powers." He told himself. Taking a look of determination, he called his ghost half forward and failed.

A gasp left him as he immediately felt his body become weaker. He breathed heavily, both from frustration and necessity. He refused to lose control of his own powers! He fisted his hands and called them again.

The black rings slowly appeared and slowly changed the man into his ghost form. Vlad stumbled backwards, quickly finding a wall to support him. "I'm fine; I just need a moment." He told himself, watching the room spin horribly. Slowly, Vlad lifted his gloved hand to his eye level and stared at it. His split vision, however, caused him to see double.

Despite this, he forced ecto-energy to form in his hand, but the moment his hand began to glow blue, his rings appeared. Vlad quickly called it off. "Alright, that's out of the question" He decided, forcing his body to hold itself up. With even more effort he levitated off the ground and flew into the Ghost Zone.

* * *

Vlad arrived at Desiree's domain. Normally it took him thirty minutes to get there; this time…it took him over an hour. He had been inspecting his ghost half during his unsteady flight and he noticed it was abnormally transparent. He also felt colder then he should. Visually, everything else was still the same, which he was thankful for.

He felt severely weak and that was something he needed to mask. No matter the effort it took to do so.

Vlad knocked on the ghost's door. He allowed his anger to flow through him, causing his dull red eyes to brighten.

The second the door began to open, he pushed it with such force that the owner had to back away in order to avoid being hit by it. Faster the Desiree could react Vlad grabbed her by the neck and pulled her close. "You have a minute to explain what you have done to me, before I end your mediocre after-life." Vlad growled, using all his strength to hold the ghost painfully tight.

Desiree grasp the man's hand and glared with such ferocity it would have sent the bravest man running in fear. Or at least most. "How dare you? Unhand me at once!" Desiree ignited her hands and shot Vlad in the chest, sending him slamming into the closed door.

Vlad forced himself up and held his chest while glaring dangerously at the ghost genie. Desiree hands exploded with more energy. She was about to fire it at the man, but stopped.

Vlad lowered his hand and stood to his full height as he watched an amuse grin spread on Desiree's face. "So I take it you didn't like your wish?" she asked, studying the man intently.

"You did more then grant me a wish" Vlad snapped back, trying to keep himself looking strong, despite that the smile on the ghost's face showed she knew otherwise.

Desiree called off her energy. She floated off towards her coach, clearly trying to show the man he was no threat to her. To Vlad's building fury, he could not prove her otherwise.

She sat down and shot the man a seductive yet wicked smile. "I did exactly what you asked me to do." She assured.

"I asked you to change the boy into a badger; that's it!" he yelled.

"And I told you that requires a lot of energy" she shot back. "I also told you I was not willing to spare that amount of energy."

Vlad remained silent for a moment. "You used my energy to grant the wish" he realized, a bit a fear leaking from his words.

"Yes I did, you said there must be something I could do and there was. I simply used your own energy to grant your own desire." Desiree chuckled at seeing Vlad's hands fist. "What? You didn't think I'd touch _you_ without _needing_ to, did you?" she asked, her amused expression changing into disgust.

"Undo the wish. Now!" Vlad demanded.

Desiree laughed full heartedly as she stood up. "And why would I do that? Like you said, the ghost boy is out of my hair and by the looks of it the wish is causing you more then a temporary power deficiency… another plus for me."

"Why you double crossing wench! Do you know who you are dealing with?!" Vlad roared, approaching the ghost.

Desiree suddenly vanished. "Yes, but you do not." Vlad heard behind him before being blasted across the room. "Foolish man, haven't you ever heard the saying that nothing in this world is free? Well, guess what? That also applies for the Ghost Zone." She said darkly before extending her hand towards the fallen half-ghost. The ghost's hand grew twice its size before grasping the man by the neck and slamming him into a wall.

Vlad saw stars burst in his vision. His strong façade finally collapsed at the attack. "Release me at once!" he grunted but Desiree squeezed harder.

"What's wrong, ghost man?" she said approaching him. "Are you afraid of me touching you, now?"

Vlad struggled to escape the ghost's grip, but he was too weak to do so. "You tricked me!" he wheezed.

"I already told you, I only did what you asked." she teased.

"You _will_ undo this wish or you are going to rue crossing my path!" Vlad threatened.

Desiree looked at him with repulsion. "You are by far the most arrogant person I've ever met."

"I'm also the most dangerous, wench!" he growled back.

Desiree slammed the hybrid's head once more into the wall, causing him to groan in pain. "I could easily destroy you right now, but I rather watch you suffer." She hissed darkly. "I think you remember me telling you that this form of wish takes longer to grant? Well, it also takes longer to fully carry out." She said with a sinister grin.

"What the blazes does that mean?" Vlad asked dazedly, although he continued attempting to free himself.

"Simple, you wished that the ghost boy was turned into an animal, and that's _exactly _what will occur."

Vlad stopped struggling at her words. "T-That's not what I meant" he stuttered in alarm.

Desiree shrugged "You should have been more specific." Desiree let go of Vlad causing him to drop on the ground. "The wish takes two days to become permanent. That means you have until sunrise tomorrow, so I suggest you get back to your new pet. The lack of human contact will only make _the symptoms_ worse for him and hence for you as well. The same applies if you do not conserve energy." She said with a chuckle.

Vlad stood. "What do you want?" he asked seriously.

Desiree gave him an amused look. "To undo the wish?" Vlad just stared at her. Desiree approached him, before leaning over and whispering in his ear. "I want to never see you again, but that's something I can easily obtain on my own."

Vlad gasped as he felt his body becoming encased with a strange energy. "Ah!" he screamed as said energy threw him out of the genie's house and far across the Ghost Zone.

"Enjoy what remains of your life" she whispered evilly before releasing her attack and heading calmly back into her house.

* * *

Heh-heh...that should explain some things. I have to say I'm very happy with this chapter; it came out like I wanted it to, in other words I'm past my writers block! Well, just a few more questions left to answer and just a few more chapters left! wow...this will be the first full length story I finsih...yay! Okay, two announcments: One, I will be starting an AU this summer called. "Stolen Life" It was my first choice for a title and after writing a bit of it I realized it was the most appropriate. With that said, I'm going to _try_ to update this story more often since I'm almost done. Three stories at once would be too much to take on, so I want to finish this one before starting "Stolen Life" Second announcement is that I will be updating "Most Unexpected Pet" Tonight, so keep a look out for it. That's all for now, let me know what you guys think and thank you for all your support! ttyl!


	11. Chapter 11: Drastic times

**Chapter 11: Drastic times call for drastic measures**

Skulker growled in annoyance at hearing a loud knock at his door. He gave the weapon he was working on one more look before placing it down and floating off towards his front door. Arriving, he calmly pulled out a blade from his suit. "Whoever it is will have the honor of becoming my supper tonight." He decided, inspecting the sharp blade prior to opening his door.

Skulker quickly brought the blade to the neck of the entity standing in his door way, only to gasp "Plasmius"

Vlad rolled his eyes and swatted the blade away from his neck. "I require your service" he informed calmly, floating pass the hunter and entering his house.

Skulker frowned and put away his sword. "What exactly do you need?" he inquired, closing his door before turning towards the man who stood with his back to him.

Vlad turned to him with a serious expression. "I need you to track someone- something for me."

Skulker studied the man intently as he slowly approached him. His eyebrows creased in perplexity and curiosity "You're very ill."

Vlad said nothing; instead he gestured with a hand towards the hunter's living room. Skulker nodded at the unspoken question and followed the man to the living room.

Vlad sat down, but Skulker remained standing. The ghost continued to look over his employer although his expression showed he was waiting for a response from him. Vlad looked up at him. "Is it that obvious?" he asked bitterly.

Skulker shrugged. "I'm a hunter, a predator, and like any predator I can sense weakness and illness." He replied leisurely.

Outwardly, Vlad made no acknowledgment towards the ghost's words, but internally he understood Danny's attitude before he had fainted. The teen had been trying to warn him this whole time. "I need you to find Daniel." Vlad informed.

Skulker gave him an incredulous look. "The whelp? Since when have you needed me to find him?"

The hunter was frustrated with the man's delayed responses, but he still remained quiet and waited for him to speak. "I need your assistance because Daniel isn't Daniel at the moment, hence why I can not locate him myself." Vlad replied, rubbing his temple.

This time Skulker remained silent. He had no clue what the man was talking about. "I changed the boy into a badger." Vlad finally explained, looking up at the ghost, awaiting his reaction.

Skulker just stared back. "A badger?" he repeated after several seconds. Vlad nodded, his face portraying complete seriousness.

Skulker sat down, his eyes momentarily glancing down before returning them to his employer. "As in the animal?"

"Yes, Skulker! A badger! An animal! It's about _this_ big, has large claws and teeth, a furry tail, and small ears. A badger!" Vlad shouted, his shook nerves causing him to quickly loose his patience with the ghost.

The hunter was completely baffled. "How in the Ghost Zone did you do that?"

Vlad sighed angrily. "Desiree." He spat out.

"You asked Desiree to change him into a badger?"

Despite his severe aggravation with the ghost's attitude, Vlad calmly nodded.

Skulker looked at him like his was crazy. "Why?"

Vlad glared. "It doesn't matter! Can you track him or not?!"

Skulker raised an eyebrow at the angry man. "Of course I can."

Vlad didn't respond, but his anger had lowered at the hunter's words. Skulker studied the thoughtful half-ghost, before an amused grin appeared on his expression. "Tell me, Plasmius, how did the wish turn out?"

The billionaire glared at the smirking ghost, but responded anyways. "If I don't change him back, he's going to become a full fledge badger." He replied angrily.

Skulker frowned at the news. He then sighed in annoyance. "Wonderful, you just changed my most favorite and unique prey into a mere earthly animal."

Vlad rolled his eyes. "If it makes you feel better, he still has his ghost powers." He informed sarcastically.

Surprise passed the armor wearing ghost's expression, but it soon vanished with a malicious smile. "Interesting"

"There is something else."

"And it has to do with you" Skulker concluded by the sober expression on his employer's face.

Vlad nodded once more. "You can sense I am not well…Tell me, what exactly do you sense?" he asked.

Skulker sat back on his couch, his eyes not leaving his employer's. "I do not have a ghost sense, but I can feel your energy is extremely weak…. I'm surprised you're in ghost form… I can smell your quickly deteriorating…among other things." He added, knowing better then to tell the man he could smell his fear and worry. Skulker shook his head. "I'm not entirely sure what you're asking me"

"I'm asking you to confirm my suspicions. Would you say my condition is life threatening?" Vlad asked.

Understanding passed the hunter's expression. "Without a doubt" he replied in a grim tone.

Vlad stood. He quickly regretted it, but didn't show it; just like he didn't show the amount of effort it was taking him to stay in ghost form. "The wish fulfills by sunrise. That's less then ten hours from now. If I do not undo this wish before then, there will be no more half-ghosts." Vlad assured angrily.

Skulker stood up in shock. "Are you saying your condition is due to this wish? What kind of wish did you make?" he asked in disbelief. The hunter simply could not swallow that his employer had even asked Desiree for anything. The man knew full well that her wishes were dangerous. What could have possibly possessed him to make such a rash decision?

Vlad crossed his arms. "I made it in here… I don't think I need to explain what that signifies. Just by touching my hand she managed to use my energy to carry out what I asked her for." He explained.

Skulker frowned. "And you _let_ her? Do you realize how much energy that takes? It drains _her_ just imagine what it does to someone that does not hold her abilities."

"I don't need to imagine it, I'm feeling it!" Vlad snapped back. "I never expected this to happen, Skulker! This blasted wish is draining my ghost energy faster then my body can regenerate it! It's destroying my ghost half!" Vlad shouted, pacing around before a dizzy spell forced him to stop.

"Shouldn't you avoid your ghost form then?" He retorted quizzically.

"I needed to come here. I think it's obvious I do not have much time. " Vlad said angrily.

Skulker nodded at his words. "Very well, I'll find the pup. If he has his ghost powers then it should make my task easier…I will, however, require compensation" he added with a smirk.

Vlad narrowed his eyes at the ghost. "Rest assured, you will not have _compensation_ Ever. Again. if you do not find him." Vlad growled before heading towards the door.

Skulker raised an eyebrow at his words. "Why exactly is losing your ghost half…_affecting_ you?" He asked.

Vlad looked at him for a moment, but soon turned and opened the door. "I'll be at my home in Amity…Oh, and Skulker?" he called, turning to look at the hunter once more. "Do not harm the boy" Vlad warned before leaving.

* * *

"Jazz!" Maddie called. 

Jazz looked at Sam and Tucker and sighed. Nervously, all three stood up and left the kitchen. "Hi mom, dad" she greeted warily.

Maddie approached her daughter and grabbed her shoulders. "Jazz, this has gone far enough. I don't care if Danny disobeyed us or not. I just want to see him. If you know where your brother is, you must tell us, Jazz?" Maddie said worriedly.

Jazz sadly shook her head. "I-I don't know where he is, mom… I didn't want to tell you so you wouldn't worry, but I haven't seen-"

"Ding-dong"

Jack walked over to the door and opened it. "V-man? What happen to you?" he inquired at the man's unwell appearance.

Vlad sighed irritably. "May I come in?"

"Sure thing!" Jack exclaimed, slapping the man on the back. Unfortunately for Vlad, his friend's action made him stumble forward, trip, and fall face first on the floor, in front of everyone.

Vlad sat up and held his head, while Jack rubbed his neck. "Sorry bout that Vladdie, I guess I don't know my own strength." He mumbled, extending a hand to help him to his feet.

"_No, you don't know your own stupidity"_ he thought crossly, refusing the man's help and standing on his own.

"Vlad, have you seen Danny?" Maddie asked urgently.

The billionaire's attention immediately went his crush at her question. He then looked at the three teenagers currently glaring at him. "They told you?" he replied warily.

"No, I was about to though." Jazz assured, hoping to scare the man even more.

It didn't.

Vlad quickly composed himself. "No need, I'll tell them myself." He replied, earning startled looks from the three teenagers in the room. "I apologize, my dear, I should have told you sooner. Daniel is with me." He calmly informed.

"He is?!" All three kids exclaimed, surprise and anger in their tone.

"Why Jasmine, you just saw him, remember? He told you he needed a little bit of time alone; that is why he came to my house." Vlad responded with cool smile.

Maddie frowned. "Jazz, I thought you said you didn't know where your brother was?"

Danny's sister stared at the billionaire. Despite his tranquil demeanor, she could see a form of urgency in his eyes. "I…uh did…because I didn't know where he was right now….but I did see him earlier, at uncle Vlad's house." she said, directing a nervous smile at her mom. Jazz ignored Sam's and Tucker's quiet protests for backing up the evil man.

"Oh, well that's a relief!" Jack exclaimed with a bright smile.

"Yes. I care deeply for Daniel and I wanted to help him in his time of need" Vlad said in mock sympathy.

Jack looked at his friend with appreciative eyes, but Maddie looked at him with icy ones. "I'm grateful that you care so much about my child that you, one, encourage him to disappear without telling us, and two, leave him alone at your house, in the middle of the night."

Vlad clearly noted the mother's angry sarcasm but pretended he didn't. "Oh, no need for that, I'll do anything for you, Maddie." He assured her with a loving smile.

"Yes, I'm sure you would, so how about you bring Danny home now? Can you do that for me?" she snapped.

"Yeah, uncle Vlad, that would be _noble_ of you to do" Jazz agreed, crossing her arms expectantly.

Vlad let out a dramatic sigh. "Unfortunately, Daniel has told me he needs more time; that is why I came. Oh, don't look so angry, my dear. Daniel is fine. Let the poor boy stretch out his wings. I can assure you; he'll come back when he's ready. What's important is that he's safe, right Jack?"

"Right!" Jack concurred, wrapping an arm around Vlad's shoulder. "Danny's safe with Vladdie and that's what matters. Sometimes they need their space, Maddie baby, I say we give it them!"

Maddie narrowed her eyes at her former college friend. "He has school tomorrow so I want him back by early morning." she ordered, before angrily heading towards the stairs.

"Oh, just a moment, my dear. There is something else I must tell you." Vlad informed, gladly moving away from Jack's hold.

Maddie crossed her arms and glared expectantly. "Daniel insists that Jasmine comes over….he wants to talk to her about his…worries." He quickly glanced from Maddie to Jazz, then back to the unconvinced Maddie. "Trust me, my dear; the only thing that would keep me from returning them to you early tomorrow is death itself. Besides, I'm sure you will feel at ease knowing Daniel is with his sister, hmm?" he added with a raised eyebrow.

"That's up to Jazz" the ghost huntress replied, looking at her daughter.

Jazz stared warily at Vlad for a moment, but soon nodded. "Y-Yeah, mom, I'll go. I really want to talk to Danny too." She assured her.

Maddie gave her daughter a small smile, before heading upstairs. "Come, Jasmine, we must go." Vlad urged, moving towards the door.

"Hey, don't you need to pack, princess?" Jack asked quizzically.

"No, no. I have plenty of things at my house. It's just one night, Jack." Vlad quickly said.

"Come on" Jazz whispered to Sam and Tucker. "See you tomorrow, dad." Jazz said, stepping out of the house.

"Okay, Jazzy-pants." Jack replied before turning his attention to his friend. "Hey Vlad?" he called, grabbing his friend's shoulder. Vlad raised a questioning eyebrow. "As your friend I feel I have the obligation of telling you this." Jack leaned in a bit closer and stared at him in complete seriousness. "Fire your hair stylist, Vladdie. Your hair looks terrible."

Vlad's hands balled into a fist. "Yes, Jack. I'll do just that." He replied through clench teeth. Jack gave him a bright smile and a pat on the shoulder.

The half ghost walked of towards his limousine; his eyes flashed red as he thought about all the things he would love to do to his friend. He forced himself to push away his dark thoughts, knowing he had more urgent matters at hand. "I'm sure you can give us a ride home." Sam said, crossing her arms expectantly.

Vlad rolled his eyes, but nodded. All three teens climbed into the black limo, before Vlad got in himself.

The billionaire pressed a button next to an intercom "The house, Carl." He said and then released it.

Vlad rubbed his temple, purposely ignoring the three kids glaring at him from the other side of the car. "I'm far too tired to sugar coat this, so let me just tell you. I'm sure you three remember the badger you saw at my house." he began, looking at them. They nodded slowly.

"The badger is Daniel and I lost him. I already checked my house and he is not there. I came to your house, Jasmine, hoping he would be there…obviously he is not."

Jazz stared at him in disbelief before her eyes narrowed. "Are you telling me that you're dragging me to your house because you can't find your _badger_?!"

"No, you foolish girl! I'm dragging you to my house because I can't find Daniel! Daniel is the badger! Why is that so blasting hard to believe?" Vlad shouted back, fuming that he had to go through this again.

Sam rolled her eyes. "Yes, we know your badger is _Danny_, so what?"

"Oh! For the love of- Listen closely." Vlad said through clenched teeth. "The badger _is_ Daniel."

All three teens just stared at him like he was insane

"APPLE SLICES! THE BADGER IS _YOUR_ BROTHER, _YOUR_ FRIEND, HE'S DANIEL! I ASKED DESIREE TO TURN HIM INTO A BADGER! SO _NOW_ DANIEL IS A BADGER! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" Vlad screamed at the top of his lungs.

Jazz's, Sam's, and Tucker's jaws dropped. "Y-You turned him into a b-badger?" Jazz whispered.

Vlad sighed deeply and grasped his spinning head. "Yes"

Jazz's eyes filled with rage. "Why you sick, demented-

"Enough!" Vlad shouted, glaring back at the angry girl. "I am no mood to be insulted by three brats!" he snapped, seeing the angry Sam and Tucker on the verge of opening their mouths as well. "The _only_ reason I am telling you this is because I'm running out of time! If I do not undo this wish by sunrise, you are going to have a badger as a brother permanently!"

"Well that explains Desiree's weird comments" Tucker mumbled thoughtfully

Surprise flashed across the half-ghost's eyes. "You saw…You three sent her back." He realized; his expression quickly portraying anger.

"Of course we did! She had a ship running through the middle of a crowded park!" Sam exclaimed.

"Well now thanks to your _heroic_ actions, I now have to figure out a way to allure her back out!"

"Why? Can't we just go to her place and wish Danny back?" Tucker asked confused.

Vlad let out an annoyed sigh. This was worse then having to explain things to Skulker. At least _he_ was aware of Desiree's ability…these three, clearly, were not.

"I'm going to explain everything to you, but if you as much as attempt to interrupt me, you will discover what it feels like to be thrown out a window." Vlad assured darkly, earning a gulp and a nod from Danny's sister and friends. "Now, Desiree has two forms of wish granting…

"So we have to get her here and only you can undo the wish?" Sam repeated with a frown. Vlad nodded, before noticing they were close to arriving at his house.

Jazz had been calmly observing the billionaire while he told them about Desiree. She had the feeling Vlad was not telling them everything. Her suspicions were mainly induced by the man's ill appearance. There was clearly something wrong with him; although, why his hair was two colors was beyond her. She was certain of one thing: It tied into this whole mess. Why else would he be so willing to change Danny back?

"So this wish is causing Danny to lose his humanity… what is it causing you, Vlad?" Jazz asked suddenly, quickly grabbing the man's attention.

One of Vlad's eyebrows heightened and a smirk appeared on his lips. "Ah, bright girl." He quipped with a chuckle. At seeing Jazz's unwavering expectancy, Vlad 's cockiness vanished. "Desiree used my own ghost energy to grant the wish. I'm losing my ghost half at the same rate Daniel is losing his humanity"

"So_ that's_ why you are so desperate to change him back!" Sam accused angrily.

Vlad gave her a bored look. "Am I supposed to deny that?"

"You know what? I'm glad you're losing your ghost powers; it's about time you suffered for the things you do to Danny" Jazz said angrily.

Vlad leaned closer to her. "If I lose my ghost half, Jasmine, I lose my life. Does that make you glad as well?" Vlad asked with a calm smile.

Jazz's eyes widen. "What?" she whispered.

Vlad leaned back on the chair before answering. "The day I became half-ghost, my powers became a vital part of me. Both parts of me have fused to such an extent that they require each other to remain stable. To put it in terms your tiny minds can grasp, I need both my halves to survive." Vlad's dry tone turned into a cold one. "Now, let me make one thing clear to all of you; I have no intention of gaining your trust or sympathy, nor do I want them. It is in _all_ of our best interest to find Daniel and undo this wish; so do yourselves a favor and drop your hateful and suspicious looks towards me; they're a waste of your energy." Right then, Vlad's chauffer opened the door.

All three teens watched as Vlad stepped out of the car without another word. They remained silent, before they looked at one another. "This is pretty serious, isn't it?" Tucker finally voiced.

"Yeah" Sam replied soberly.

Jazz sighed. "I know it's hard, but we need to forget Vlad's an evil jerk, if we're going to fix his mess….besides even he doesn't deserve…all that."

Danny's friends nodded in agreement. Wordlessly, they all got out of the car and headed towards the mansion.

Vlad stepped away from the wall he was leaning on at seeing Danny's friends and sister finally walk in. "I sent Skulker to track Daniel" he informed, walking away from them with his hands behind his back.

"Skulker?!" Sam exclaimed, quickly following the man down a hallway.

"Yes" Vlad said calmly without looking back at her. "If anyone can find Daniel it is him." he assured.

The three teens entered a lounge and watched the billionaire sit down, before tiredly gesturing them to do the same. They didn't.

"But Skulker is going to try to skin him or something!" Tucker protested.

Vlad shrugged. "Possibly, but trying to find him ourselves would take longer and the longer he is away from human interaction the more damage the spell will do to both of us."

"You going ghost has the same effect, right?" Tucker asked.

Vlad shot him a disgusted look at his word usage, but only nodded.

"Where would Danny go?" Jazz pondered out loud.

"More like, where would he go as a badger…man that's weird." Tucker added, still not believing his best friend was currently a furry, little animal.

Vlad didn't hear their conversation. He was too preoccupied with his spinning head and shortage of breath. Being in ghost form earlier and running around now, had worsened his condition and that meant Danny's too. Vlad glanced up at his grandfather clock causing everyone to do the same.

Sam let out a frustrated sigh. "I'm not standing around any longer; I'm going to find Danny. You might trust Skulker to find him but I don't" she told Vlad.

The half-ghost took a shaky breath. "Y-You forget… Ms. Manson, that finding Daniel is not our only concern." The pale billionaire stood up, earning wary looks that he ignored. "I must find a way to bring Desiree here." Vlad said in one breath. "A-After I-I wake… up" he slurred before passing out.

Tucker, Sam, and Jazz gasped in alarm and rushed to look at Vlad. Luckily, he fell right back on the couch. "We have to do this on our own, you two, because by the looks of it, Vlad isn't going to be much help." Jazz said, while making sure the man was still breathing.

Tucker gazed worriedly at the unconscious half-ghost. "You guys realize that if Vlad's this bad, Danny..."

"Yeah, we know" Both girls said quietly

* * *

Did I make you guys happy? I updated before Saturday! I know _I'm_ extremely happy at passing the 100 review mark! I feel so loved! Thank you all so much!!!! I also have some sketches to share with you guys. I was in drawing mood so yeah...their from chapter nine. I hope you like them and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Infinite hugs and thanks to each of you!

-remove spaces and (); if it doesn't work you can go to my DA account; there is a link on my F-net profile if you need it. Oh, and as a side note, if anyone is interested in asking me questions there is a little game on my DA account as well.

h t t p (:) (/) (/) w ww. deviantart . com/deviation /56404861/


	12. Chapter 12: Seperate Plans

**Chapter 12: Separate Plans**

Danny yawned widely, before licking his lips. He looked up at the night sky. _"Man, I was tired"_ he thought sleepily, standing up and stretching.

Making sure it was safe, the badger climbed down the tree. He leisurely walked through the forest floor, taking in his surroundings with moderate interest. _"Huh, I'm pretty sure I needed to do something."_ He mused.

Discovering a berry bush, he brushed his thoughts aside and ran over to it. He stood and grasped a few in his mouth before sitting back down. As he calmly ate the sweet treats, his blue eyes continued to observe his surroundings.

"_How are you feeling?"_

"_Change me back"_

The young badger yelped loudly as his head exploded with pain. He squeezed his eyes shut at the incoherent voices whispering in his head. Suddenly, his eyes widen with panic. _"What's going on? Where am I?"_ He chittered, his frantic eyes darting in all directions. His lowered his gaze towards his own body, his distress swelling even more. _"Who…am I?"_

Danny breathed heavily from fear as he attempted to make sense out of all this, but the more he searched his mind for his identity, for the reason he was alone in the middle of nowhere, the more his head pounded. He couldn't remember anything, but something within him said he needed to find something…

Danny's ears lowered in sadness and trepidation. _"Am I…alone?"_ He looked at his darken surroundings. He was still young, so he had to have a mom and dad. _"Mom?"_ he chirped loudly, hoping to get a response. He tried several more times until he discovered that no one was going to come to his aid.

A soft, distressed whine emitted from the young badger's throat as he curled up inside the berry bush, not knowing what else to do.

* * *

At not picking up Danny's unique signature on his scanner, Skulker concluded that it had been altered. For any other person or ghost, this would mean searching the entire town, surely taking hours. For the hunter, it was barely an obstacle. The teen might have a different signature and even look different, but his smell couldn't change. All he needed to do was get close enough to pick up his scent. At the moment, he had nothing, but the ghost knew it wouldn't be for long; he had already narrowed his search to one place. 

Skulker flew forward, his eyes studying the town below. "The whelp might be a predator, but he is also prey. That means, he has headed towards a sheltered location and the closest _shelter_ to my employer's home is the park."

Skulker pressed a button on his wrist upon nearing the park. Right away, the radar began to make constant beeps, causing an evil grin to spread on Skulker's face.

He had a signature.

"Predictable, ghost child" he said with a chuckle. Skulker couldn't help but notice that this particular ghost signature was extremely weak. He didn't ponder the matter since it held no importance to him.

He flew above the park, until he found the area the signature was coming from. He quickly turned off the radar and cut down his rockets to a silent hover. With the boy now a badger, he needed to use all his stealth or he would surely detect him. "Time to hunt" he said, sniffing the air.

* * *

Danny remained within the berry bush. His attention had dully gone to the different creatures frolicking within the trees and bushes. His ears twitched from the noises around him; the croaks of frogs and the chirping of crickets were the most dominant. 

The teen's head shot up as a family of quails rushed by him. _"Where's my family? I'm sure I have one…why can't I remember?"_ he sadly asked himself.

Danny barked in alarm as something wildly moved the berry bush. He quickly discovered it was a small herd of dears, making a snack out of it. The badger sighed in frustration as several berries hit him on the head. _"Jeez, can't a guy sulk without being annoyed."_ He growled, standing up and moving out of the bush.

He walked through the forest, no particular destination in mind. Ironically, he passed by a badger barrow. He tilted his head in curiosity, daring to get a bit closer to the hole, but the second he heard a warning growl, the teen quickly moved on. The last thing he wanted was to get into a fight with anything.

"_I don't get it. How can I completely forget everything? I don't even know What I am."_ The teen was so buried in his thoughts and confusion he did not notice the animals around him run off and hide. It wasn't until the entire area had fallen silent and his hair prickled that he took notice.

Danny froze. He felt a wave of coldness pass through his body and leave through his slightly parted mouth in the form of blue mist. He looked around at the silent forest with large eyes. "Something's wrong" he chittered, slowly backing away. The teen's ears lowered once more. He smelled something, but he couldn't place where the entity was; the direction it was approaching him from dispersed its scent. Danny was sure of one thing.

It was hunting him.

The young badger sprang into a run, his flashing brown eyes quickly locking into a near by tree. Before he could reach it, however, something appeared in front of him, blocking his escape.

"Boo" Skulker stated with an evil grin.

Danny wailed in response and scurried away from the huge predator. Skulker watched in amusement as the badger ran towards another tree, before swiftly climbing it. "This is too easy" he said with a chuckle as he retracted a weapon and aimed it at the scared animal.

Danny didn't know what had happened. One second he was climbing a tree and the next, he was falling from it after being hit by something hard. He whimpered at feeling unable to move, he soon realized why.

The badger cried loudly, frantically trying to untangle himself from the green net as his attacker approached.

Danny shrunk into quivering ball as the entity crouched down and stared at him. _"P-Please, don't eat me"_ he whimpered as a hand came towards him, but to his surprise, it didn't touch him.

Skulker pressed a button on his wrist, clearly indifferent to the young badger's distress. Beeps emitted from the device once more. "Well, you have a signature and you smell like the whelp. You must be him" the hunter concluded, before turning off the device and smiling viciously at the teen. "What's wrong, ghost child, you look scared?" he teased.

"_Ghost child?"_ Danny wondered, calming down enough to take in his attacker's appearance. He knew him…but he couldn't recall how.

Danny's loud wails returned as the net vanished and Skulker grasped him tightly. "My employer asked me to retrieve you for him, but I'm starting to have second thoughts about handing you over. After all, I don't have a half-ghost badger in my collection." He informed with a predatory look.

Unable to escape the predator's hold, his flight response turned into fight. With deep snarls he bit down on the offending hand only to yelp in pain. Skulker laughed heartedly. "Oh, you are definitely the whelp."

Skulker ignored the badger's angry protest and placed him inside a small cage before taking to the sky. "What should I do with you, pup? If I keep you, it will mean my employers demise and in turn the end of my expensive supplies. If I don't, I would be breaking my promise to myself of hanging your pelt on my wall."

An evil smile crept on the ghost's expression. "Actually, my decision isn't as difficult as I thought." He said in a tone of realization. With wicked chuckle, he picked his course and headed steadily towards it.

* * *

Unfortunately for Danny's friends, tomorrow was Monday, so it took a lot of explaining and buttering up to get parental permission to "spend the night at Danny's" Currently, the three teen's were thinking of a way to lure out the ghost genie. 

"What if we used a thermos?" Tucker suggested.

"I don't know if that would work in there." Sam replied, her eyebrows furrowed in thought.

A sigh escaped Jazz after giving the still unconscious half-ghost a glance. "Maybe we can force her back out with a bit of _physical motivation_."

"We would have to fight her all the way back to one of the portals; I'm not sure if we could take her on for that long." Tucker retorted

Everyone silenced for a moment. "What if we brought the portal to her?" Jazz suddenly said.

Tucker and Sam exchanged confused looks. "How?"

"Well…my mom has the Fenton Bazooka. It sucks ghosts back into the Ghost Zone; maybe there's a way to make it do the opposite." She proposed.

"The opposite? I don't-

"No, Sam; I think it can be done" Tucker caught off. "We just need to change the direction the energies travel."

Sam stared at him with a puzzled expression. "Look at it this way; if I want to send information from one computer to another, I just need to make a link between them. The link lets me send information both ways. I think the same applies with the Ghost Zone and our world. The Fenton Bazooka makes a link between them and sends ghost back to their own place, so, all we need to do is reverse the link, get it?"

Sam nodded. "Wow, Tucker; I'm impressed." Tucker gave her a cheeky smile in return.

"Alright, let me go get the bazooka and Tucker can reverse it."

"Hey, wait; I never said I could do it" the teenage boy quickly informed.

"WHAT?!" both girls shouted.

"Hey! I'm a techno geek, not a ghost weapon geek!" he defended, with raised hands. "It's just a theory that should work."

Jazz groaned and sat down on a chair with a huff. "Now what? It's not like I can go ask my dad to reverse it for us; even he would question that!"

Tucker sighed. "I could _try_" he replied encouragingly.

"I don't think we have much of a choice." Sam countered, before her eyebrows furrowed in Vlad's direction. "Hey, couldn't Vlad reverse it? He's always building wacky inventions to use against Danny."

"That or he copies of my dad's inventions." Jazz reminded dryly. "But I think you might be right."

"Yeah, but he isn't exactly able to do anything when he's passed out" Tucker pointed out.

"Well, maybe by the time I come back he'll be awake" Jazz hoped, getting up.

"How are you going to get back to your house; it's pretty far from here on foot." Sam questioned.

Jazz smirked. "I'm sure Vlad can help us out with that. A billionaire wouldn't be a billionaire if he didn't have a collection of transportation."

"I think we should go with you." Sam stated. "If we are going to go after Desiree we need the Specter Speeder."

Jazz nodded. "What about Vlad?" Tucker asked. "Do you think it's a good idea to leave him alone?"

Jazz frowned, but then shrugged. "It shouldn't take us more then thirty minutes to get what we need and come back; he'll be fine. Come on, we better get going."

Tucker scoffed as he followed Jazz and Sam out of the living room. "Let's see how long it takes us to find a car; this house is huge!"

"Long isn't an option, Tucker. It's almost midnight; that means we have less then six hours before sunrise." Sam reminded, looking around the multiple hallways.

Ten minutes later, the teens found what they were looking for. "Man! Look at this place!" Tucker exclaimed, staring at the numerous expensive cars around him. The man had more cares then a large dealership!

Jazz and Sam ignored Tucker's comment and headed for a small red convertible. Luckily, Vlad kept the keys in the dashboard, so they had no problem with borrowing the car.

"I hope your parents are asleep." Sam stated as Jazz turned on the car and drove it out. The car made a beep as it neared one of the four garage doors.

"I hope so too." Jazz replied worriedly. At a second beep, the closest garage door opened, allowing Jazz to drive out and head towards her house.

* * *

DING- DING- DING 

Vlad groaned as his grandfather clock caused him to finally stir. He grasped his aching head and glared at the loud clock. "Why the blazes do I have such a noisy thing?" he grumbled as he slowly stood.

He frowned when he took notice of the teens' absence. _"Its times like these I'm glad I never had children." _He thought annoyed. Vlad growled, his attention returning to the still chiming clock. "Ugh! …why is …" His eyes widen with realization "it's midnight." He whispered with dread.

Vlad took a sharp breath and walked out of the living room. "Jasmine?!" he called, looking around his house for Maddie's daughter. Why was it that he kept losing everyone lately?

He searched the kitchen and few other rooms, before giving up. Vlad halted in front of a decorative mirror, sourly taking in his worsened appearance. He tapped his foot in thought. The three teens most likely went in search of Danny. "Foolish children, they aren't going to find him." He mumbled annoyed. Speaking of the boy, Skulker should have found him by now…

"Blast! I involved those brats and that obsessive green glob to save time and they end up wasting time by making their own plans!" he fumed as he walked towards his lab. He needed to go to Skulker's again. There was no doubt in the half-ghost's mind that the hunter had already found the boy turned badger.

"What a disaster this turned out to be." He said, his fear leaking out as he braced himself for what he was about to do.

Vlad changed, his will power giving him enough push to successfully complete his transformation. Ignoring the ailments induced by being in ghost form, he flew into the Ghost Zone.

* * *

"Oh good, they're asleep." Jazz whispered as she quietly entered her house. All three teens carefully walked in, the light on Tucker's PDA producing enough light for them to navigate through the darkened house. 

"I'm going up to Danny's room to get that map he has of the Ghost Zone." Sam said softly, parting from the other two teens and taking the stairs.

Jazz and Tucker walked down into the lab and immediately began to search for what they needed. "Here's the Fenton Bazooka" Jazz stated, pulling out the large weapon.

Tucker grabbed it and placed it inside the speeder. He then looked through the different equipment around the lab and grabbed everything he thought might aid them with their dilemma.

Sam entered the lab just as Jazz grabbed the ghost peeler and another assault weapon. "Luckily, Danny updates this thing regularly. He has the location of Vlad's new portal in here." The goth girl informed. "Listen Jazz, Tucker and I are going to go through the ghost zone. We can get to Vlad's quicker through there. Hopefully he can reprogram the bazooka." Sam stated.

Jazz frowned, clearly not happy with Sam's order, but agreed anyways. She was the only one who had a license and she couldn't leave Vlad's car in her driveway. Her parents would surely question the expensive car's appearance.

"You two better not wonder off." Jazz stated, before heading out of the lab.

Sam climbed into the speeder, while Tucker activated the portal. She looked over the map with a thoughtful frown. "Tucker" she said once he got in.

"Yeah?" he asked, turning on the speeder and flying into the Ghost Zone.

"I know we should get back to Vlad's but I'm worried about Danny. What if Skulker finds him, but doesn't bring him to Vlad?" she asked.

"What are you saying, Sam?" Tucker asked confused.

Sam looked at the map, before turning her eyes back to her friend. "I think we should go to Skulker's."

"What?! Are you nuts? If he catches us, he'll turn us into human rugs for sure!" Tucker exclaimed.

"And if he has Danny, he's going to do worse to him, Tucker!" Sam argued back.

The techno geek sighed. "Look, let's just check. Humans are the ghost in here, remember? Plus we have plenty of weapons." She reminded.

Tucker smirked. "Let's go hunt the hunter then." He quipped, turning the speeder into the direction of Skulker's domain.

* * *

Not an exciting chapter but it was necessary to bring everything together. Sorry for the long wait, I have the next chapter written out already so it should be posted before next Saturday. For those of you who haven't visited my DA account, I wanted to show you a title card I made for this story. I will be posting the colored version in a moment…. Took A LOT of work coloring that thing in! Well, thanks for your support, please don't forget to let me know what you guys think, kay? Ta, for now!

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	13. Chapter 13: Half Ghost Badger

**Author's note:**

Hey gang, sorry for the long wait; I do have a reasonable excuse, however. My internet connection decided to crash two Mondays ago and so I have been on unable to get online since then. This next chapter is twice as long as the usual chapters so I hope that makes up for the wait somewhat. Oh, and for those who have been anxiously expecting the trio's reunion, well, this is your chapter! Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 13: Half-Ghost Badger**

"Would you desist that infernal noise?!" Skulker shouted, shooting the caged, wailing badger an angry look. The hunter decided to keep Danny for himself upon realizing that he could do so without the cost of his employer's life…

"You're making a big deal out of this." Skulker said, his attention to the blade he was sharpening. "It'll be quick; you won't feel a thing."

"_I don't care how quick it is; I want to keep my head!"_ Danny yelled back. He scratched, gnawed, and pushed at the strange glowing blue walls confining him, but his efforts were futile and he soon found his capturer approaching with a malicious smile.

The teen's fear quickly became aggression when the hunter opened the cage and reached in to grab him. He attacked with everything he had, but the large predator didn't even flinch in discomfort. _"No! let me go!"_ the badger cried in panic as Skulker grabbed him tightly and took him to a carving table.

Danny whimpered and shivered as the ghost roughly inspected his fur with his large, metal fingers. "I would have preferred your human pelt, but this one will do just fine." The poor animal's cries returned when his head was pinned to the table. "I would ask if you have a last request but since you can't talk, we'll skip all that."

The teen watched in terror as Skulker brought the sharp blade right above his neck. _"Stop! Please!"_

Skulker grinned. The badger was struggling so hard, he was actually leaving claw marks on his metal made hands. "We both knew this day would come, ghost child. If it's any consolation I won't let a single piece of you go to waste."

Danny's eyes shut as he heard the blade come down on him. He didn't want this to be the end! This _couldn't_ be the end! He hadn't even figured out who he was. He was sure he had a family and he wanted to see them!

The badger's entire body lit up so quickly with green energy that Skulker didn't even manage a gasp when he was propelled backwards. With a startled yelp, Danny snapped his eyes open, unaware that his once blue irises were now pulsing between a deep brown and neon green.

He looked at his glowing white body in wonder. He felt like something within him had awakened. What it was exactly, he did not know, but he did know that it could help him defend himself.

"Well, I can't say I expected that." Skulker mumbled, pushing himself out of the weapon stand he had impacted. "Not a problem; I enjoy a good struggle," he said, giving the young animal a predatory smile.

Danny took a threatening stand and his body glowed green once more. _"Stay away,"_ he snarled.

Skulker's grin fell and surprise flashed across his features. "You can… talk," he said, his tone changing into amusement and interest at the last word. He quickly raised his arm and activated his radar.

He lifted an eyebrow at the beeping instrument. The teen's once weak signature was now as strong as ever. "You know, my employer did mention you still had your powers, but I wonder if he realized they weren't completely active at the time." Skulker turned his gaze back to Danny. "I also wonder if…" Without warning, Skulker summoned a large gun and sent a strong blast at the teen.

Danny cried in alarm as the table exploded into dust and he fell to the ground. Somehow, he avoided injury from the assault and fall. Without hesitation, the badger ran away from the hunter, who watched with a smirk as he disappeared from his line of sight. "So I was right; his instincts are controlling his ghostly abilities." It made perfect sense. Using his powers was the _only _way to defend his self now that he was in the Ghost Zone. After all, teeth and nails could only do so much when it came to using them against ghosts.

Skulker smiled wickedly as he floated after his prey. He didn't need to ponder the teen's sudden ability to speak. He knew the cause the second he saw the half-ghost's signature had strengthened. In actuality, the badger had not gained the ability to truly speak. The awakening of his ghost side is what now allowed Skulker to understand him. It wasn't anything uncommon. Like earth animals, most ghost animals could not be understood by humans. All they heard were noises, like hisses and growls. Ghosts, however, were different._ All_ ghosts could understand each other. It had something to do with what humans perceived as a mere echo in their voices, when in fact, it was so much more then that. It was an underlying form of communication between all spirits and now, Danny's voice held that "echo".

Skulker sniffed the air, unaware that the badger was doing the same. "I smell you, whelp."

"I smell you too and I'm not letting you near me." Danny retorted, observing the hunter from under a couch.

Skulker aimed his weapon at the couch. "You forget_ I'm _the superior hunter. You can't escape me, pup, especially now that your moves are easier to predict." The hunter fired his gun. The attack struck the couch and made a huge black hole through it. The hunter didn't seem to care that he had just destroyed his couch; he got the result he wanted from his prey.

Danny ran out in alarm, exposing himself to Skulker. With an amused chuckle, the ghost fired a green net towards the fleeing badger. The teen, however, turned intangible, and avoided being snared by it. The hunter growled in irritation and chased after him.

Danny looked around for a way to escape the large "cage" he was in. He needed to return to the forest where he could find shelter. The badger reached a closed green door and somehow knew it was his way out… but how could he get out?

The teen's attention darted to Skulker who had finally caught up to him. "Give up, ghost child; there's nowhere to run."

Danny's eyes narrowed. "You're crazy if you think I'm going to let you eat me!" he growled.

Skulker blinked at his words. "I never thought of that…" he mumbled thoughtfully, but soon a sinister expression appeared on the hunter's face. "I wonder what a half-ghost badger taste like."

Danny forced himself to stay where he was as the ghost aimed a weapon at him. Having already seen what this particular weapon did, he knew his idea would work. At the last second, he dodged Skulker's attack. In turn, the hot ecto-blast struck the door that was once behind the badger and effectively created a hole.

"Thanks!" Danny chittered before using the hole to escape his attacker's house.

Skulker was momentarily taken aback by the teen's ability to plan ahead. "So, he's still capable of logical thought," he realized.

Danny froze in fear the moment he saw what was outside the ghost's house. His surroundings were dark and green, and there were doors floating everywhere. "What is this place?" he thought with dread. "And why is it so familiar?"

"It's the Ghost Zone and its familiar because you've been here countless of times, pup." Skulker answered from behind, before attacking the teen once more.

Danny scurried away from the multiple blasts and headed towards the glowing forest he had spotted a second ago. It had 'danger' written all over it, but at the moment, it was the only thing that offered a good chance of living for at least a few more minutes.

Danny was panting heavily by the time he reached the tall trees. He needed to hide, but as much as he tried, he couldn't out run this flying predator! The badger cried out when a hot blast landed inches behind him, causing him to lose his footing. His alarmed cry turned into a pained one as he tumbled forward and his left, front paw snagged on a thick plant root. His foot screamed with pain but he didn't look at it. Instead, he turned his head towards Skulker, only to find a gun inches from his body. "I truly enjoyed this little chase, but I think I want to move on to the skinning," he informed with a wicked smile.

"Skulker!"

Said ghost whirled around at hearing the voice of his very angry employer. He frowned before looking back at the badger, only to find he was gone. Skulker growled in annoyance as he debated weather to answer his employer or continue his hunt. With a sigh, he put away his guns and went in search of Vlad.

Plasmius glared daggers at seeing the hunter step out of the large forest on his island. "Where the blazes is Daniel?

"Calm yourself." Skulker said coolly. "The whelp is here and before you accuse me of betraying you, let me assure you it is not the case. I just realized there's simpler way to solve your dilemma."

Vlad's glare fell, but a displeased frown remained on his features. "Explain"

"Your wish against the whelp is what's slowly destroying your ghost energy, correct? Well, get _rid_ of the whelp and the wish nulls. I get his head and you keep your powers," he enlightened, a predatory smile forming on his lips at the last sentence, before it vanished. "I'm surprised this _little_ fact didn't cross your mind," he added with a raised eyebrow.

Vlad just stared at him with unreadable expression, one which Skulker took as approval. "Now that things are settled, I have a very clever half-ghost badger to hunt." Skulker remarked in amusement. He retracted his gun and floated off. Even then, the older half-ghost didn't say anything; in fact, he hardly noticed the ghost's departure. He was so impacted by the hunter's words.

"_Get rid of the whelp and the wish nulls."_

He was right. It was because of Danny his ghost side was being destroyed. Vlad couldn't help but feel like a battery, a battery that his young rival was draining the life from. …But with the younger half-ghost's demise, the wish would be broken, the connection would be broken… it was a sure way of ensuring his survival.

Two loud blasts brought him out of his thoughts. He turned in the directions of the blasts before pulling out a hand clock. His eyebrows scrunched in worry. "It would be an easier solution to all this," he told himself. The question was, could he bring himself to do such a thing? Sure, he would constantly beat the teen to a pulp and put him in danger. Heck, he even had the desire to waste the boy a few times…but to really do it or allow someone else to…

Vlad looked back down at the clock and glared. Cursing under his breath, he flew towards the commotion. He landed on the forest floor upon spotting Skulker's unmoving form up ahead. "Skulker," he called, but received no acknowledgment.

Vlad growled in annoyance, but a gasp soon followed as Skulker suddenly sprang towards something while one of his many arsenals retracted out of his shoulder. "Skulker, wait!" Vlad yelled, but it was too late. Two missiles exploded out of his large gun.

A high pitch wail reached Plasmius' ears. His face paled significantly at recognizing it instantly. It was the same one Danny let out when his cat came close to ending his life.

Vlad was proven wrong less then a second later. This wail wasn't the same as that one, but he had seen it before. He watched with large eyes as Skulker and everything in front of the teen was pushed away from him by waves of spectral energy. Luckily for the billionaire, he was far enough to get out of the wail's direct path before it could reach him. Vlad was beyond shocked at witnessing Danny unleash such a powerful attack in his current form. As he covered his ears, he remembered how draining this attack was on the teen… this couldn't be good news from him and his spinning head confirmed his fear.

* * *

Sam and Tucker arrived at Skulker's domain. "Where should I land?" Tucker asked, clearly nervous with what they were about to do.

"Um… see if you can land in between those two trees there." Sam replied just as nervous.

Tucker descended the speeder and landed it with a soft thud. "Are you sure you want to sneak into Skulker's house? Maybe we should just _ask _him about Danny," the male teen suggested.

Sam rolled her eyes, "Right. Like he would hand over his most wanted living trophy."

"Look, Sam, I'm just saying sneaking into Skulker's isn't the best idea. Whether Danny's in there or not, it isn't going to do him much good if we get captured!" Tucker rationalized.

Sam sighed. "Well, what else can we do? We have to save Danny!"

Tucker crossed his arms and stayed quiet for a moment. Right then a smile appeared on his face. "I got it!" he exclaimed. He ran to the back of the speeder and searched through the ghost equipment he borrowed from Fenton Works. "Vlad said Danny was still half ghost; maybe the Fenton Ghost Finder can help us track him!"

Sam watched as her friend picked up said device before racing back to the front of the speeder. "And the real world detector can tell us if he's even on Skulker's island," he added as he typed furiously on the ships control panel.

"Two real world items detected."

"Ha! Technology triumphs again!" he announced, pumping a fist in the air.

Sam smirked. "You know, Tucker, just when I think you- Whoa! Do you feel that?" she suddenly said, receiving a quizzical look from Tucker.

He soon realized what the girl meant when the rumbling got stronger, and soon after an ear splitting wail resonated in the air. Tucker and Sam's eyes went wide. "Tucker! It's Danny!" Sam shouted fearfully.

"Yeah and if he's using his ghostly wail then he must be in trouble." Tucker added.

"Look, it's coming from over there!" Sam pointed, seeing trees being uprooted some distance away.

Tucker quickly took the controls and ascended the speeder into the air. Without hesitation he took off towards the area of destruction.

* * *

The wail soon ended, but it had succeeded in leveling a good sized area of the forest. Vlad was currently leaning against a tree and looking like he just got punched in the stomach. Apart from the man's strained breathing and a few coughs brought forth from the debris in the air, the forest was completely silent. After a couple of attempts, Vlad supported his own weight without the help of the tree. He slowly walked towards the place Skulker was before Danny's attack; the dirt and smaller debris, hazed his vision even more.

He looked around, but he saw no trace of Danny. It was then that a small whimper reached his ears and he quickly headed towards it. "D-Danny" he called weakly, upon discovering the badger's fallen form.

Vlad stooped - more like fell- to his knees besides the teen. If it wasn't for the fact that the teen looked unwell he would question why the badger's body held a ghostly white hue.

"Daniel" he called a bit stronger, lifting him off the ground to inspect him.

At the moment all the badger could do was whimper even louder at being captured. Whatever happened to him didn't just leave him in pain, but severely weakened as well. What came to some relief for Danny was that whoever had him in their hold was not the same predator that had been chasing him.

Vlad's eyebrows creased further as Danny slowly lifted his head and looked up at him.

He wasn't sure how to react towards the teen's eyes flashing between _green_ and brown. In the end he just let out a deep sigh. "You shouldn't have left."

The badger stared at the billionaire with lowered ears. He knew this entity, but more then just his instincts were telling him to flee from him. Whoever he was, he could not be trusted. Still feeling weak, Danny resorted to the only thing he could do at the moment. _"P-Please, l-let me go." _

Vlad's eyes widened from disbelief. "I-It's not possible…. You-you can speak!"

Danny was too startled by the man's sudden outburst to contemplate what he was saying and the abrupt gasp that followed didn't help any. Without thinking, the badger stood and scurried back, only to fall from Vlad's hands and hit the ground.

Plasmius barely registered Danny was no longer in his hold. The wave of weakness passing over him had, his eyes and teeth tightly clenched and his form glowing with a pink hue. He never noticed a pink mist escape his body and dissipate into the atmosphere.

Danny didn't notice any of it either since the fall had agitated his injured paw and left it with a pulsing ache. Regardless, he wobbled to his feet with the intention of putting as much distance between himself and the being in front of him. "D-Daniel, w-wait," he heard the man wheeze out.

Danny turned back towards him, quickly realizing upon inspection the entity was ill. He cocked his head in confusion; why was he so wary of him when it was obvious he couldn't even hurt a fly at the moment. The badger clearly hesitated in his retreat. "Who are you?" he decided to ask.

Vlad finally looked at him with dulled, red eyes. "You don't… remember?" he whispered. He then pressed a hand to his head, before speaking again. "Listen… to me; I'm not-"

Danny took a step back at seeing two black rings appear around Vlad's mid-section. As further result the teen's instincts kicked back in, but still, he hesitated in listening to them. It was only when he heard heavy footsteps approaching that his instincts managed to win his internal battle and he quickly limped away.

Vlad fisted his hands and fought against his body's need to revert to its human form. "No… I must not…. change…. forms," he grunted. He only had a few hours and he needed whatever ghost energy he had left!

The spectral rings vanished, just as another wave of pink energy left his body and dissolved away. Vlad brought a hand to his forehead once more. He was incredibly dizzy and he couldn't seem to bring his breathing back into his control. His own pains didn't allow him to hear the approaching footsteps or realize Danny's departure.

"Vlad?" Sam called upon reaching the man's kneeled form. Her confusion quickly turned into suspicion. "What are you doing here and where's Danny?" she demanded, but Vlad didn't even acknowledge her presence.

Having caught up with his athletic friend, Tucker was just as confused at finding Vlad at Skulker's as Sam was. Didn't they leave him passed out at his mansion? He quickly looked around the destroyed forest, in hopes of spotting Danny. And he did.

His eyes stopped on a small animal looking over the island's edge. "Sam, look! I think that's Danny!" Tucker exclaimed causing Sam's attention to move away from Vlad and towards the direction Tucker's hand was pointing in.

* * *

Danny had limped away in hopes of finding shelter, but all he found was the end of the island. He chittered nervously as he looked over the edge. He was stuck on a piece of land that appeared to be floating in some eerie black and green abyss. _"What do I do now?"_

The badger's eyes widened when he heard footsteps behind him. He quickly whirled around towards the sound and found two entities standing a few feet away from him.

Large grins appeared on their faces before they yelled something he didn't understand and ran at him. Of course, these actions were not seen as good to a confused, scared, and cornered young animal. Without hesitation, Danny growled menacingly causing them to immediately halt.

Sam and Tucker stared at their friend with disbelief. He looked ready to attack _them_! "Tucker, why is he acting like that? It's as if he doesn't recognize us." Sam voiced warily.

"Maybe he's just confused. Vlad said he was acting weird after being turned into a badger," he reminded, before looking back at Danny. "Dude, it's us. We came to help you." Tucker assured, taking a small step towards the badger. In response, Danny's growls instantly deepened and he displayed his fangs; Tucker didn't dare to take another step.

Sam's eyes widened at this. She was right; Danny didn't recognize them! The girl felt a lump form in her throat. She didn't know what to do, but she did know she needed to convince Danny they were not going to hurt him… for his sake. _"_Danny…please. It's me, Sam; I'm your best friend. _We're _your best friends. You have to remember." Sam pleaded.

Danny took a few steps back towards the edge. He was so confused. He had no idea, who he was, where he was, or why everything seem to be after him. Something told him to trust these two entities, but then something else told him the very opposite. This in turn was causing his aggression to waver and his fear to swell. He didn't understand why he found so much comfort in their voices, especially the girl's. …If only he knew what they were saying. The badger chanced a glance at his surroundings in hopes of finding a way to escape, but then, the entity with purple eyes spoke again.

The moment Danny had took those steps back, Sam and Tucker realized their friend was hurt. "Oh man, what happened to him?" Tucker wondered sympathetically.

"Danny, listen to me; you're hurt. Let us help you." Sam pleaded once more, walking slowly towards him.

A small fearful whimper came from the badger at her approach. "Dude, we just want to get you outta here, but we can't if you don't trust us." Tucker added walking forward too.

Danny's growls turned more into distressed noises the more his friends, talked and closed in. His instincts told him to flee or attack, but…he didn't want to. If anything he wanted to run towards them. His indecision rendered him unable to move. All he could do was sit there and shrink away the more they inched towards him. Their voices sounded so inviting; they seem to hold protection and comfort for him. The badger felt an allurement to both of these beings, just in different ways, ways he couldn't explain.

Danny was shaking by the time Sam and Tucker stood inches from him. He managed to keep them from coming any closer by displaying his teeth at them once more. The girl said something else to him and her eyes seem to glisten as she said it. _"I-I don't want to hurt you,"_ he found himself telling her …wasn't it the opposite? _"Please, just stay away."_

Tucker let out a sigh as he watched Sam crouch down. "Maybe we should just try to capture him." Tucker said sadly, seeing his friend wasn't going to let them any closer.

Sam shook her head. "Tucker, this is Danny! I wouldn't even do that to a real wild animal. …He would never hurt us and he has to know that we would never hurt him," she said softly. The girl bit her lip, before extending her hand towards the badger.

"Sam…" Tucker said warily as the badger's growls returned.

Sam hesitated, but soon continued. "Danny… we want to help you; I care so much about you… I don't want you to be like this forever," she said gently. Tucker crouched down beside Sam as she said those words. He was unable to say anything since his breath was hitched in his throat from fear.

Danny knew he should defend himself against the hand lowering towards his head, but he just couldn't! As much as his instincts told him to attack, something else kept him from doing so. He was both terrified and puzzled at his inability to react towards the looming danger now inches from him. The badger shut his eyes and whimpered as the hand came down on his head. He waited for the fatal blow but it never came; in fact, what came was a pleasant stroke on his head. The teen looked up at the entity as she smiled sadly and talked to him in a reassuring tone.

Before he could stop himself, he jumped on her, earning himself a fearful gasp from her and a yelp from the other one. Danny ignored this, as well as the pain he felt from his injured paw and climbed up her frame. He rubbed his head against the side of hers and purred. _"I don't know who you are but I'm so glad to see you,"_

Sam hugged the badger lightly at hearing him purr and coo at her. "Don't worry Danny, you'll be you again. Everything's going to be fine," she assured. Sam was so relieved that Danny trusted them again that she didn't notice the smirk that had appeared on Tucker's face as he witnessed the interaction between his two friends.

"Should I leave you two alone?" he quipped, his smirk growing with his words

His remark snapped Sam out of her overwhelming contentment. At realizing her actions, her face immediately turned red. Of course, the badger remained oblivious to the goth girl's embarrassment and continued with his affection. Just when Sam didn't think things could become more awkward. The badger decided to further his display of affection by licking her cheek repeatedly. Tucker burst into laughter at seeing this while the bright red Sam scowled at her laughing friend. "Stop it, Tucker. He's just happy to see us," she defended, but Tucker continued to laugh. He was unaware that his loud laughter had earned him another set of eyes in his direction.

"_Oh, I forgot this one."_ Danny thought happily as he turned his attention to the male teen. Being that they were beside each other, the badger had little trouble in jumping from Sam to Tucker, who yelped in surprise at this. _"Thanks for finding me."_ Danny chittered, showing Tucker the same affection he had shown Sam only in a more lively way.

Tucker gave Danny an unsure smile and patted him on the head. "I'm glad to see you too, dude," he told him, only for the badger to become more excited at hearing his voice. "Whoa!" Tucker exclaimed, grabbing Danny's face to keep him from displaying his happiness further. "Why don't you save the kissing for Sam?" he added, tossing a smirk at the glaring girl.

"_Hey, let go!"_ Danny protested as he used his right front paw to push away the teen's hand. He got off Tucker, deciding this one wasn't as pleasant as the other one. Sam picked up the limping badger coming towards her. "Danny, is it broken?" she asked fearfully, touching his left paw lightly only for him to recoil it in fear. "I just want to see." she comforted, trying again.

Danny's ears lowered. _"W-Wait."_ he asked, but didn't move his paw away this time. He let out a small noise of pain as she inspected it. Despite this, she allowed her probing; it hurt, but he realized she was just trying to help.

"Is it bad?" Tucker asked, also looking at Danny's paw.

"I'm not sure… I don't _think_ it's broken." She replied. "Danny, who did this to you? Was it Vlad?" she asked, pointing at his injured paw. She already knew Danny couldn't talk but she still wasn't aware that he couldn't understand her either. The badger, however, figured some of her question out from her pointing at his paw.

"_This flying predator kept throwing fire at me! He made me fall and hurt it!"_ Danny explained.

Tucker gave his chittering friend a confused look. "Uh… did you catch that?" he asked his female friend.

Sam rolled her eyes at him. "Come on, we need to get going." she said, standing up.

Danny stared at his two friend's interaction with a cocked head. He wondered why he couldn't communicate with them…. He had no problem communicating with those other two beings… _"I think they're different species; they do look different from each other."_ He soon dismissed his pondering and decided he wanted to be affectionate again. He rubbed his head against the girl's hands and lower arms. _"I really like you." _he told her. Danny was sure he knew her somehow, but since he couldn't really ask her, he decided he was just as content at having her and the other one around. He felt completely safe with them.

Sam frowned at the purring badger. "You know what, Tucker, I don't think Danny understands us."

"I've been thinking that too, Sam." He admitted, remembering that his friend had yet to acknowledge anything they said. "Hey, Danny," he called down at the badger, but he just continued with his affections towards Sam.

"Danny, look at us." Sam asked worriedly.

Nothing.

"Well that proves that." Tucker said with a sigh.

Sam sighed as well. "We better- Hey, where did Vlad go?" Sam asked, seeing the man was no longer where they had seen him.

* * *

Vlad stood up once his dizziness receded enough for him to hold himself on his feet. He looked towards where Danny last was, but found he was no longer there. What he did find after a moment of searching was Sam and Tucker, standing some feet away. He moved closer but halted when his eyes caught sight of Danny.

He observed as they approached the badger, but quickly stopped when Danny became hostile towards them. "It seems I'm not the only one Daniel doesn't remember," he murmured with a frown. He crossed his arms as he his thoughts went to something that still baffled him. Danny ability to suddenly speak was disconcerting and his glowing body and flashing green eyes even more so. He was certain they were connected but at the moment he's mind was too exhausted to ponder how. Deciding to just get straight answers to his questions, he turned towards the destroyed forest. "They can deal with Daniel," he decided, walking off in search of Skulker.

After a moment of following the path of destruction the teen's wail had done, he found traces of who he was looking for. Vlad gazed uncaringly at the pieces of metal and armor scattered on the forest floor. Eventually, his eyes fell on a familiar head piece. He picked it up and pressed a button.

With a hiss, the head piece split open, revealing the true form of the very disoriented Skulker. "What in the Ghost Zone was that?" he asked in a high-pitched, dazed voice, his small hands towards his face.

"That was Daniel when he's extremely upset." Vlad informed dryly. "Now tell me, Skulker, why is it that, one, Daniel is glowing, two, his eyes are flashing green, and three and most importantly, he can suddenly speak?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Skulker floated out of the helmet and up to his employer's eye level. "Isn't it obvious? His ghost powers are the cause. The reason you can understand him now is due to his ghost voice being dominant over his human one." He replied in an irritated voice as his eyes caught sight of what was left of his suit.

Despite the hunter's explanation was extremely vague, it was enough for Vlad to piece everything together. "What triggered this power growth?" he inquired as the smaller ghost flew down to a piece of his battle suit.

Skulker shrugged, his gaze to the piece of arm he was inspecting. "I was about to decapitate him... I suppose he didn't like the idea."

Vlad rolled his eyes at the ghost's ridiculous remark, but none the less it had answered his question. His instincts, like before, triggered the teen's powers. "Here" Vlad said tossing the helmet in his hands to Skulker. The small ghost let out a small gasp as he turned intangible to avoid being squished by his own head piece. The hunter glared at his employer's retreating form. "Oh, and don't bother with Daniel, I'll deal with him myself."

Skulker glare fell into a questioning frown as he floated after his employer. "You're going to waste him yourself?"

Vlad halted and turned towards Skulker. "I have too many plans for Daniel to simply waste him, Skulker."

The hunter rolled his eyes. "It's going to be rather difficult to carry out said plans if you're six feet under," Skulker bluntly pointed out.

The half-ghost glared in response but before he could retort they were interrupted.

"Vlad!" Sam called upon catching sight of him.

The billionaire and Skulker moved their attentions towards the approaching teens. "You two! What are you doing in my lair?" the hunter asked angrily.

Sam glared and held Danny a little closer. "We came to stop you from hurting Danny!"

"You two? Stop _me_?! I am Skulker, the Ghost Zone's-

"Greatest hunter." Vlad cut off in a dry tone. "Yes, Yes, we all know who you are. You two, come." Vlad ordered as he turned and walked off

"Hey! We have names you know." Tucker said annoyed

"And we're not dogs." Sam added, peeved at the man's rude command.

Vlad stopped his departure and faced them once more. "We must go," he replied with heavy aggravation.

"I don't like him." Vlad heard Danny say to his female friend as he pulled closer to her frame. The billionaire rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything. He turned away, deciding to let them do what they wanted. He still had Desiree to deal with and he wasn't wasting his energy on two annoying teenagers.

Sam and Tucker were about to follow the man, but their attention went to Skulker when he spoke up. "Plasmius," the hunter called out. The billionaire gritted his teeth at being stopped yet again, but this time he didn't turn around. Vlad's irritation left at the hunter's next words. "I strongly suggest you reconsider your decision," he told him in a serious tone.

For a brief moment it appeared Vlad wouldn't respond. "If… I must," he said before continuing his departure.

The recently reunited trio stared at both ghosts in confusion; of course Danny's confusion was for a different reason then his friends'. Sam and Tucker heard the hesitation in the man's voice. Skulker's words clearly held significance to both ghosts.

Sam looked at Tucker who shrugged at her unspoken question. The girl's lips pursed in suspicion, before following after Vlad with Tucker in tow.

Skulker shook his head as he watched everyone leave. "He's not going to make it," he said out loud. It was a pity really; the older half-ghost was the best ally he had. It was upsetting that he would have to lose such a beneficial employer, but there was nothing he could do.

The hunter's thoughts shifted at catching a pair of curious, flashing eyes staring back at him. Skulker glared in return. It was clear the badger had no clue that this small ghost was the same ghosts that had been firing blasts at him just a moment ago. The ghost watched Danny quickly hide from sight upon receiving the hunter's threatening look. "Rest assured, once my employer is out of the picture I will come for you, regardless of _what_ you are." Skulker growled under his breath.

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I know I said that we had about two chapters to go, but I've added a few scenes so it added two more chapters... so three chapters left. I also have an update on CM, it'll be up in a matter of days, if I'm lucky it will be today, but it all depends on my beta. Hopefully everything I just said stays true; it seems every time I say something it doesn't happen, like I jinx myself or something... Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter; oh, on a side note. If anyone is wondering why Danny is acting so unlike himself, well it has to do with the whole badger thing. I haven't said it directly yet, but he has lost a lot of his ability to rationalize, and what little he has left is constantly being obscured by his animal instincts. Hence why he is constantly either scared out of his mind or overly aggressive. Alright, that's enough blathering. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated!


	14. Chapter 14: The friends of my enemy

First, I wanted to say thank you to truephan for all the help you have given me to get this chapter all fixed up! Here's a cookie, they are less painful then my hugs! Second, I apologize for the delay with this one, but I had a lot to work out in this next chapter as well as some unexpected personal stuff. Third and lastly, is my long chapter warning; this is thirty pages, so be prepared to have your eyes glued to your computer screen for a good amount of time! See you at the bottom!

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom

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**Chapter 14: The friends of my enemy are my friends **

"Vlad" Sam called, catching up to the half-ghost. With a tired sigh, he turned to face her. "I want to know what Skulker meant by _reconsidering_ _your decision_?" she demanded suspiciously.

Vlad crossed his arms and gave her a bored look. "You've got nerve, girl, I'll give you that. Luckily for you I don't have the time to teach you your place."

Sam scoffed. "Nice threat, I hope you don't mind if I don't shake in fear from it," she stated sarcastically.

Vlad took a step towards her. "Perhaps I should take the time then…" he said calmly, his cold red eyes piercing through Sam's.

Danny's flashing eyes narrowed at hearing the man's threat. Although his friends didn't show it, well, the girl didn't, the badger could feel their fear for the half-ghost. The teen felt something spark within him, something that made him completely forget his own fear for the man. He quickly stood to his height and growled menacingly at Vlad. "Back off," he warned, his body lighting with a green hue.

Vlad's eyes immediately went to Danny and faster then Sam could react, he grabbed the badger away from her, by the neck. "And what are you going to do if I do not?" he asked dangerously, his calm demeanor clearly gone. "Bite me? I'm starting to reconsider my decision already," he threatened, even though none of them knew what he was talking about.

"Give him back!" Sam yelled angrily.

"Yeah, what she said," Tucker added, while hiding behind his female friend.

"Let me go," Danny chittered, his vulnerable position causing his anger and self-confidence to deflate.

Plasmius ignored the badger's plea and glared at Sam and Tucker, before turning away from them and taking to the air. He let out a frustrated growl as he continued to make his way out of the ghostly forest, purposely ignoring the two teenagers' protests behind him. He was so sick of them and the rat he currently held in his hand. "All this is your fault, Daniel, do you know that?" he hissed at the badger.

"Um…no," Danny replied nervously.

Vlad shook his head at the teen's answer and took a calming breath. He couldn't let his anger cloud his judgment…. or was it fear? The billionaire quickly dismissed the question for the sake of his own sanity. "I'm going to ask you several questions and I want you to answer me," the man ordered.

"I want to go back with them," Danny whined.

Vlad rolled his eyes. "They are coming with us. Now, do you remember who you are?" he asked, spotting the Specter Speeder up ahead and descending towards it.

Danny thought about it for a moment before looking up at the billionaire. "I'm…Daniel?"

A frown appeared on the man's expression as he landed. It was clear the teen only knew that from hearing him call him this. "Yes, that's your name," he replied worriedly, finally looking down at the young badger. "Do you know_ anything_ else?"

The moment Danny met his gaze, Plasmius saw that the teen's eyes were still flashing green and brown. "No… are you going to eat me?" Danny added warily, unable to think of another reason why the man was so interested in him.

Vlad raised an eyebrow at him, but then his attention turned to the Specter Speeder. He turned the door handle and walked in.

Danny squeaked when he was dropped carelessly on one of the seats. The badger quickly stood and stared after Vlad's retreating form.

The billionaire's eyebrows creased as he studied the vehicle's controls. He needed to get to Desiree's lair and this contraption was the quickest way, being that he didn't have the energy to fly all the way there. To his mounting bad luck her home was pretty far from here.

A moment later Sam and Tucker ran into the speeder. "Danny!" they said in relief as they approached him. Of course the half-ghost badger was more then happy to see them.

"Are you alright?" Sam asked as her friend climbed up on her.

Vlad rolled his eyes at hearing her question, but didn't say anything nor acknowledge their presence.

Tucker frowned as he turned his attention to the billionaire. It was obvious he was trying to determine everything the speeder did and how. "Hey, I can lend you a hand with that if you want," the teen offered.

Vlad didn't answer.

Sam crossed her arms and glared at the man's back. "You know, things would go a lot easier if you'd let us help."

Still no answer.

"Sam" Tucker said warily as she placed Danny in his hands, before stomping over to the older half-ghost.

"What is your problem?!" she shouted, stepping in front of him.

Vlad slammed his hand down on the dashboard, causing the girl to jump from the unexpected display of anger. "Why the blazes are you two even here?" he hissed. "I told you not to come looking for, Daniel; I told you to stay at my house; I told you there was still Desiree to worry about! You want to help? Then help by_ not_ helping, because all your _help_ has done is waste time!" he yelled before turning back to what he was doing.

Sam stayed silent. It wasn't that she had given up, but that she realized her approach wasn't working. The girl was pulled out of her thought by a hand touching her shoulder.

Tucker gave her a small smile, before handing her Danny, who had his ears lowered with worry and fear. He turned towards the man and took a step towards him. "Listen, Vlad, Danny's our friend. You gotta understand that we can't just sit here and do nothing. If we left your house it was to find a way to get Desiree out of the Ghost Zone."

Vlad sighed tiredly "At this point of time, Mr. Foley, the only way to get her to our world is that I confront her."

"But she'll kick your butt!" he exclaimed

Vlad turned to him with a glare. "I-I mean, your powers are not working too well. What would you say if I told you we found an easier way to get her to our world?"

"I would say, I do not comprehend why you are asking me such a foolish question instead of telling me what this _easier way_ is," the half-ghost retorted dryly.

"Here, show him instead," Sam said, giving Tucker the bazooka she had just retrieved.

"Look, this is the Fenton Bazooka. It-"

"I know what it does," Vlad interrupted, his arms crossing impatiently.

"Oh… well we are planning to use it on Desiree…but we need your help…We're hoping you can reverse the gun's energies so that instead of opening a portal to the ghost zone and sucking a ghost in here. It can open one to the human world and-

"Send a ghost there," Vlad ended with a look of astonishment. He turned thoughtful for a moment, before looking at the two teens with a raised eyebrow. "You two thought of this?"

"Actually, Jazz and I did, but it was mostly me," Tucker said proudly.

"So can you reverse it?" Sam asked, ignoring her friend's remark.

Vlad gazed at Danny's friends for a moment, clearly debating whether to go with their plan. The man's decision became evident when he grabbed the gun from Tucker's hands and inspected it. "Yes… I should be able to."

Sam gave Tucker a small smile which he didn't catch since his attention was to Vlad. "Tucker ceases to amaze me, Danny," she whispered to the badger before walking off to sit down.

Tucker curiously watched Plasmius study the weapon, but his attention went to the man at seeing him take an unbalanced step backwards and shake his head, before looking at the gun once more. "Uh…Shouldn't you turn human?"

"Yes" Vlad answered airily, walking over to the pilot seat and sitting down.

Tucker fixed his hat nervously before talking again. "So… why don't you?"

Vlad raised his eyes towards the teen. "You have already convinced me to let you both help, so why don't you go sit with your friends while I work on this?" he asked coolly.

Tucker looked back at Sam who was sitting on the floor with Danny. "Yeah… good idea," he mumbled before heading over to them.

Vlad shot a glance over to the trio and noticed Sam was looking at the Danny's paw. "Does it hurt?" she asked worriedly.

It was clear the badger had figured out her question because he soon said. "It doesn't really hurt anymore."

"That's because your ghost powers healed it, Daniel," Vlad answered the younger half-ghost.

Danny looked over at Vlad who had returned his attention back to the bazooka. The billionaire had phased the circuitry out of the weapon and was currently sorting through the wires.

"Wait… you can understand him?" Tucker asked in disbelief.

"Yes," Vlad answered, "and before you ask, yes, he can understand me too."

"But you said-"

"Skulker somehow managed to awaken his ghost half. That is why _I _can understand him," Vlad informed off-handedly, earning quizzically looks from everyone.

"What? I don't get it. Why would his ghost powers suddenly let you understand him?" Sam asked.

Vlad lowered the gun and finally turned his full attention to the teenagers. "Because, Ms. Manson, all spirits are capable of understanding each other. Animal ghosts are _still_ ghosts and so they too hold the same underlying form of communication found in all spectral entities." Of course, the older half-ghost knew that there were exceptions and there was also the matter on what exactly allowed spirits to interpret each other, but he had no interest in trying to explain something as complicated to fourteen year olds.

Sam and Tucker immediately were reminded of all the animal ghosts Danny had faced in the past… they never understood them. "But Danny's never understood ghost animals even when he's in ghost form, I mean, take those vultures that work for you. Danny's never heard them speak," Sam argued

Vlad rolled his eyes. "Have you asked him?"

Well, no, not really," Tucker answered with a pondering frown.

"Just because all _you_ hear are squawks doesn't mean that's all he hears. I know for a fact he can understand those vultures as clearly as _we_ understand each other. The same applies to all the animal ghosts he's encountered," he explained, before continuing with what he was doing.

"What's ghost powers?" Danny suddenly asked, cocking his head.

Vlad sighed. "It's the reason you are currently glowing, Daniel."

The young badger looked down at himself, before looking back at the man. "You're glowing too. Do you have ghost powers?"

"Yes," Vlad replied tiredly, while he clipped two wires using a bit of ecto energy.

"Is that why you're sick? …Am I going to get sick too?" Danny questioned worriedly.

"No, to both," the billionaire replied in a monotone voice.

"What's he saying, Vlad?" Sam asked, unable to remain quiet any longer.

Plasmius gritted his teeth. What was this? The twenty question game? "You never answered why you were after me. The other glowing guy wanted to chop of my head, skin me, and then eat me!" Danny exclaimed, shuddering at the memory "So…does the glowing mean you're a… predator?" the badger asked fearfully, getting a bit closer to Sam.

Vlad let out a frustrated groan before glaring at the boy turned animal. "No, Daniel, I am not going to eat you, so quit insinuating that I am. I am glowing because I'm a ghost or half-ghost rather. And just because I know your next question will be, why those two aren't glowing, then let me tell you the reason beforehand. Your friends are human. The girl's name is Samantha-

"Sam," she corrected, crossing her arms.

"_Fine_," the man growled, "her name is Sam and the other's name is Tucker. You are a half-ghost half human hybrid, but I wished you into a badger which is why you don't look human at the moment. You can not remember any of this because it's a side effect of the wish and _I_ being_ sick,_ is also a side effect. We are currently trying to change you back and to do so we need to find a ghost named Desiree. Now as for your question, _Ms. Manson_, Daniel is asking me everything possible. There, I told you everything, so _stop_ talking to me or so help me I'm going to gag all three of you; I don't care if it is the last thing I do!" Vlad shouted, before turning his eyes back to the device.

"Hey, Sam, I got it!" Tucker exclaimed. Sam gave her friend a quizzically look; she didn't even realize Tucker had left.

Vlad shot the trio a quick glare. _"First they interrogate me, now they ignore me. These brats are lucky I have more important things to do then strangle them!"_

Danny watched as Tucker sat back down with a device in his hand. "The ghost gabber?" Sam asked confused.

The badger stared fleetingly at the strange device, but his curiosity was too strong and he approached the metal box.

"Yeah! I brought all the equipment I thought could help us and this was one of them." Tucker answered, looking for the 'on' switch on the gabber.

"Uh, how was _this_ thing going to help us?" Sam retorted with a raised eyebrow.

Tucker gave her a sheepish grin. "I don't know… it just seemed like a good idea."

The goth girl rolled her eyes. "Only you would think that," she said dryly.

"Hey! It might help us now," her human friend defended. "This thing translates a ghost's language into words we understand, right?"

Sam's eyes filled with realization. "Hey, you're right!" she stated, looking eagerly at the device as it lit up and began to beep.

Danny yelped before running back towards Sam. _"What is that?"_ he asked fearfully.

**"What is that? Fear me." **

Sam and Tucker gasped, while Vlad lowered the gun and raised an eyebrow at hearing the device repeat what Danny said. "It works!" Sam exclaimed.

"See? I told you it was a good idea, because Tucker Foley always has good ideas!" the techno geek proudly proclaimed.

Normally those types of comments earned Tucker some dry comment or at least an eye roll from Sam, but this time she was too happy to bother.

"Well, it seems not all of Jack Fenton's idiotic inventions are useless," Vlad said off-handedly.

**"Well, it seems not all of Jack Fenton's idiotic inventions are useless. Fear me, I am evil." **

Vlad frowned, while Danny laughed at the strange sounds the machine made after the man had spoken. "I take that back," the billionaire said under his breath, turning back to the device in his hands… comically, it too was Jack's invention.

_"We already know his evil,"_ Tucker thought wryly

"I wish it would stop saying _Fear me_ after everything it translates," Sam said annoyed.

Realizing something this funny couldn't be dangerous, Danny walked over to the device once more. _"I like this toy,"_ he chirped at his friends.

**"I like this toy. Fear me" **

Tucker burst into laughter. "Hear that Sam? Danny thinks it's a toy!"

The badger cocked his head at the laughing boy, but soon after he laughed too. Although, it sounded like excited clucking noises to his friends' ears, the device immediately translated it into what they interpreted as laughter. "Sam might be fun to cuddle with but Tucker looks like I could have a lot of fun with."

The goth blushed at hearing the device translate Danny's words, while Tucker fell to the ground laughing once more. "Oh man, I knew it!" he exclaimed, clutching his side and rolling from side to side.

Sam glowered at her amused friend, but then she smirked evilly at noticing something Tucker didn't. Danny's ears had lowered in mischief and he was slowly approaching his male friend.

"Ahh!" Tucker shouted, feeling something pounce on his stomach.

"I want to play too!" Danny exclaimed, interpreting Tucker's actions for a game of tumble. He nipped playfully at Tucker's shirt and arms, earning himself startled yelps from the human teen.

"Danny! Dude, what are you doing?!" Tucker cried out.

Danny just laughed and continued his assault which quickly increased when Tucker attempted to grab him. The badger took this as a personal challenge. "Too slow, Tucker" he chirped, nipping his friend's side.

"Ouch! That one hurt! Stop!" the boy yelled, attempting to escape his friend's assault, but the badger was too quick. "Sam, help! Tell him to stop!"

Sam crossed her arms and smiled calmly. "I would... if he could understand me, but don't worry, he's just thinks you're fun to play with."

Realizing his female friend wasn't going to help him anytime soon, Tucker skidded to his feet and ran from the badger. Danny tilted his head to the side at seeing the boy flee. His confusion, however, quickly disappeared. "Oh, I get it. New game… I like chasing games," he thought as his eyes narrowed in a playful, but predatory fashion.

Tucker gasped at seeing Danny pursue him towards the back of the speeder. "What? No! It's not a chasing game!"

Vlad couldn't help the small smile that appeared on his lips as he witnessed Danny chase his male friend around the ship. He knew he should be concerned with how much like a badger the young half-ghost was acting; the boy didn't even recall he was human anymore, but seeing him so carefree made the billionaire feel …light hearted...

His friends too acted like nothing was occurring. How could these children so easily push aside everything that was happening…everything that would happen in a few hours if their plan failed?

He found himself wishing he could feel as carefree as they did at the moment. Heck, he wouldn't even mind having the badger's memory loss so that he didn't have to cringe at every minute that passed by. Danny didn't feel what was happening to him… Vlad did.

He pushed his thoughts aside and continued with the device. It was more complicated then he first thought, but he was almost done. This whole time Vlad had also been piecing together the rest of _this_ plan. Maybe if he planned it carefully it would succeed. That was why they had not left the Ghost Zone; they would have to split up in order for it to work. As for his own plans… well those didn't need any piecing together; they were simple.

Feeling Tucker had been tortured enough, Sam stood to grab Danny, who was climbing a seat to reach his playmate standing on top of it. "I think you punished him enough, Danny," she said with a smile, while extending a hand towards the badger.

Danny let go of the bottom of Tucker's pant leg and jumped on Sam's hand. He quickly climbed up on her shoulder and rubbed his face on the girl's neck. "I'm hungry. Got any food?"

Tucker warily climbed down. "I got some beef jerky" he informed, pulling out a bag from his pocket. Sam's face scrunched in disgust as Tucker offered Danny the strip of dry meat. She turned her head away and gagged as the smell of animal flesh reached her nostrils.

Danny sniffed it curiously. "What's this?" he wondered. It smelled somewhat appetizing. Deciding to taste it, he licked it before his nose wrinkled at the odd taste. "It tastes weird" he told Tucker, who scowled in response.

"It's meat. I thought being a carnivore like me would make you appreciate high quality beef jerky," Tucker said offended.

"Actually, last time I checked, badgers are omnivores, Tucker," Sam enlightened.

"Well, that's all I have, Sam, and I doubt you have a bag of apples in your pockets," the meat lover replied with an annoyed tone, before pulling out another strip of jerky and taking a bite of it.

Danny observed Tucker as he ate and argued with Sam. "Well if he's eating it…"

Tucker yelped as the badger snatched the piece of jerky from his still extended hand. "Dude, chill, you almost bit off my finger," Tucker stated, lifting his right hand and wiggling his fingers to make sure they were all still there.

Sam shook her head. Tucker was so dramatic sometimes. Her attention quickly went to her other friend "Uh… Danny? Can you eat that somewhere else?" she asked, trying to pick up the badger and move him off.

"No!" he quickly whined, grasping onto her shirt just a bit tighter to keep her from moving him. "I like it here."

Tucker gave Sam a smirk. Danny was _now_ "torturing" her. His female friend gave him an irritated look before sitting back down on the floor.

Sam ignored the chewing of meat close to her ear the best she could and turned her eyes towards Vlad. "I don't even think he realizes how strange he's acting," Tucker suddenly said, his worried gaze towards Danny, while he chewed on more jerky.

Sam turned her attention to her half-ghost friend and sighed. "We just have to change him back and he'll be himself again… I'm more worried about Vlad, Tucker. I can't shake the feeling that he's planning something else or hiding something at the least. We need to watch him," Sam said, her voice falling to a whisper.

"Hey, you're not eating. Here, have some of mine," the badger told Sam and placed his front paws on her cheek as he attempted to give her some of his jerky.

The vegetarian yelped at having a piece of meat near her mouth and instinctively turned her head away. Danny let out his own startled cry as the girl's action made him lose his footing and roll down on Sam's lap. "What was that for?" he asked her angrily.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Danny," Sam quickly said. "I don't like meat, remem-" She stopped, recalling he didn't remember nor did he understand her. She sighed sadly and decided to give him an apologetic pat on the head.

Danny's ears perked up with happiness at her actions. He rolled on his back and looked over to the side where Tucker was. "Hey, you want to play again? You can chase me around this time," Danny chittered excitedly. He turned his eyes back to Sam. "Do you like to play?" he asked her, rubbing his face on her hands, still on his back.

Sam and Tucker gave him nervous smiles, but Sam's fell at finally noticing Danny's eyes. "Vlad?" she called fearfully.

"I thought I made it clear that I did not want to be interrupted," he said coolly.

"It's important" she said with heavy annoyance. "Why are Danny's eyes flashing brown?"

Vlad didn't look at her but still answered. "I believe it has to do with him becoming more badger-like. It was only a brief occurrence before, but now, it seems to be constant. His eyes have been flashing like that since I found him here. There it's done," he announced standing up. "Alright, this is what we will do. First, you two must go to Desiree's domain and use this weapon on her and before you ask why I don't go, I will get to that. The device should open a portal into our world-"

"_Should_?" Sam cut off with a frown.

"Yes, _should_; it's not like we have the means or the time to test it," Vlad said with a glare. "Problem is, there is no telling where it will send whatever it captures in its suction. I _did_ manage to set it to Amity's coordinates, but that's as exact as I can make it in such a short time. This is the reason I can not go. If I'm already in our world, then I can get to her faster. Fortunately, I have a mapping system and a spectral finder that key into specific ghost signatures. Desiree's is one that I can track. As soon as she touches the human plain, I'll know where to find her. Now, you must be careful with your aim. Being that the energies are reversed there is a possibility that it can capture more then spectral energy so try not to hit anything but Desiree, hmm?… Now, let me have, Daniel, we've taken enough time."

Danny, who had been absently licking his paw, abruptly halted his actions and looked at Vlad. "Why do you want me?' he chittered nervously.

"Yeah" Tucker added, hearing the device voice his friend's words. "Why do you need Danny?"

Vlad rubbed his temple. "Because the wish is against him and so he must be with me to undo it!"

"I-I don't want to go with him," Danny said nervously, quickly climbing down Sam's shoulder and seeking shelter in her hands.

Vlad glared at the badger. "You don't have choice! Do you want to be a badger for the rest of your life?"

Danny's ears lowered. "What's wrong with that?"

His reply earned him incredulous stares from everyone. Vlad shook his head. "Give him to me, Ms. Manson," he asked.

Sam looked worriedly down at Danny before slowly walking over to Vlad. "No! I don't want to go with him!" the badger hissed.

"Danny, you have to go with Vlad. I promise we'll see you soon, okay?" Sam said, trying to calm him.

The young badger just gazed at his friends and whimpered. "Please, I don't want to be alone again."

Sam's and Tucker's expression grew heavier with sadness at his plea. "Dude…"

"Oh bread crumbs! Just give him to me!' Vlad growled, making his way to Sam

Danny's hair stood on end as he growled at the man, his fangs in full view. "Get away!"

"Stop, Vlad!" Sam said angrily, quickly holding her half-ghost friend closer. "You're just making it worse!"

"Fooish girl! Stop trying to reason with him because you can not! For one, he can not understand you, and two, he has lost all logicality! We can stand here and explain in countless ways why this is what's best for him, but will never understand!"

Danny's aggression vanished and his ears drooped at seeing his friends gaze down at him with sadness. It was the first time he had witness them not return Vlad's glare. He didn't get why it was so important for him to be human. Wasn't it enough that they were together? Why did it matter what he was? …Vlad was right; he didn't understand, but he didn't want Sam and Tucker to be sad, especially if it was his fault…

The badger climbed down Sam's form and slowly walked over to Vlad. "I'll go with you; just don't make them sad anymore," Danny asked, sitting down next to the man's feet and looking as submissive as he could.

The billionaire was truly shocked by the teen's actions. All this time he had observed the boy, not once did he show any type of human reasoning… but now…. he was actually doing something against his acquired animal instincts. He was doing something he had seen the human boy do countless of times. He was putting those he cared about before himself.

It was clear to him, Danny didn't trust him (not that he ever did) and feared for his life around him, but he was now pushing all that aside… for his friends…

Vlad bend down to pick him up, causing the young badger to tremble the moment the man's hands reached him. The billionaire couldn't stop a wave of sympathy from passing over him. "You'll see them soon enough, my boy," Vlad assured, bringing him up to eye level.

Danny nodded sadly, before looking back at his friends who gave him reassuring smiles.

Vlad floated past the teens and towards the ship's exit, but suddenly he halted. "Oh, just a bit of advice for both of you. Try to surprise her. Like I mentioned earlier, in the Ghost Zone, she has no obligation of granting wishes and she is also capable of casting spells through her own will."

"In other words, shoot her before she turns us into toads," Sam said dryly.

Vlad smiled in genuine amusement. "Precisely; I'm sure you two will be able to handle it… If there is one thing _this_ little badger seems to be capable of its picking sidekicks… or should I say friends," he said, before leaving the ship.

Sam and Tucker watched as the man flew away into the Ghost Zone with Danny. "Did… he just say something _nice_? _To us_?" Tucker voiced in disbelief.

"Oh, you heard it too? Good, then I wasn't imagining things," Sam replied, before heading over to the co-pilot seat.

"So, what's the plan?" her friend asked, taking the pilot seat and turning on the speeder.

"It's more of an approach then a plan, considering I've only had a few minutes to think about it," Sam answered calmly as she looked at the map in her hands.

"Well, let's hear it; its better then nothing, right?" Tucker said, before taking off.

* * *

Danny remained quiet as Vlad flew through the eerie atmosphere. He kept casting fleeting glances at the man who held him in his hands. The teen wanted to go back to Sam and Tucker; he felt safe with them. There was something about this guy that put him on the edge… He needed to find out why. "So… what's your name?" Danny asked. 

Vlad rolled his eyes. _"I think I liked it better when I couldn't understand him."_ The badger shifted nervously at not receiving an answer. The man let out a helpless sigh. "My name is Vlad, Daniel."

The teen's ears perked and he looked up at him again. "Vlad" he repeated in a contemplative tone. "How do we know each other?"

The billionaire frowned as he pondered weather it was wise to answer that. "It's a long story; one that you do not need to know at the moment," he decided to say.

Danny cocked his head. "Why?"

"Just trust me, Daniel, alright?"

The teen rolled his eyes. "I can't trust you if I don't know who you are" he retorted.

Vlad chuckled at the irony in his words. "Actually, it's the very opposite, my boy."

Danny studied him for a moment before speaking again. "We didn't like each other, did we?"

Vlad looked down at him with a bit of surprise. "What makes you think that?" he asked out of curiosity.

Danny moved his flashing eyes away from the man's red ones. "I'm… not sure." The badger's attention alerted towards his surroundings, upon realizing they were losing altitude. "Um… Vlad? You're falling."

"What?" the man asked dazedly, his dull eyes opening a bit wider. He quickly recognized what the boy meant and regained their normal altitude once more. Vlad yawned, but was unable to cover it since he had his hands occupied. Danny cringed at the sight of the man's fangs. "Excuse me" he mumbled tiredly, oblivious to the badger's uneasiness

"So…what do you eat?" Danny finally asked.

Vlad smirked. He was tempted to answer 'little badgers', just to scare the teen out of his wits, but doing so would surely cause him to panic… and the billionaire couldn't risk such a thing… the badger was nearly impossible to trap when he fled. "Strictly fruits and vegetables," he calmly lied.

"But you have fa-

"We're here." Vlad interrupted, glad to have an excuse to end the boy's constant questioning.

Danny gazed warily at a large whirling vortex coming up in front of them. "W-Where are we going?"

"To the human world, Daniel. That's where you live," the older half-ghost informed

"Is Sam and Tucker there?" he asked hopeful.

"They will be," he replied, before swooping down and flying through his portal.

* * *

Jazz had been pacing in front of the ghost portal for the last couple of hours. She was beyond panicked. Vlad had completely vanished and Sam and Tucker had yet to come through the ghost zone. "I told them not to wonder off!" she yelled in frustration, her hands rising above her. She halted her movements, glanced at a small clock in Vlad's lab, frowned, and then resumed her pacing. "Where is everyone?" she pondered, biting nervously at the inside of her cheek. 

Suddenly the lights on the portal came to life and she gave a startled jumped at the hissing sound following after. Her eyes widened with a mixture of emotions at seeing who it was. "Vlad! I never thought I'd say this but I'm so glad to see you!"

Vlad raised an eyebrow at the beaming girl, who abruptly stopped beaming. "Where have you been?! Do you realize what time it is?! We have about an hour before sunrise!"

The half-ghost's right eye twitched at having yet another person throw questions at him. Jazz's anger then switched into worry. "We left to get something to help us trap that ghost, but Sam and Tucker haven't returned! Have you seen them? And what about Danny I thought- What?" the girl wondered as Vlad cut off her ranting, by shoving something soft and warm in her hands.

"The raving girl is your sister, Jasmine" Vlad threw back over his shoulder as he moved towards a large mainframe on the other side of the lab.

Jazz moved her attention away from the man's retreating form and looked down to see what was in her hands. She gasped at seeing two flashing eyes looking curiously up at her. "Danny?" she questioned in a whisper.

_"My sister? Really?"_ the half-ghost chittered questioningly before it turned into excitement. "_I knew it! I knew I had a fam- hey!"_ he yelped when Jazz pulled him into a bone crushing hug.

"Oh, Danny!" Jazz exclaimed in relief. "I'm so happy to see you!"

_"Let go! I can't breath!"_ the badger squeaked, attempting to wiggle out of the girl's hold. Sure, he liked affection, but this one was over doing it!

The teenage girl lifted her brother up and stared at him with worried eyes. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? I was so worried about you! I can't believe_ this_ is really you! How do you feel? And why are your eyes flashing like that?!" She pulled him closer at the last question.

The badger just gazed at the shouting girl in disbelief. _"What the heck is wrong with you?"_ he questioned.

"She inherited too much of her father's personality," Vlad answered dryly, his eyes not leaving the computer he was using.

At hearing the billionaire's sudden remark, Jazz turned to him with a quizzical look. It was like he was replying to someone, but she hadn't said anything to merit his words and her brother couldn't… "You can understand Danny?" she questioned.

Vlad sighed deeply. He really wanted to be angry, but he just didn't have the energy it required. "Yes, and if you control your mouth for two minutes I'll explain everything," he said turning to face her. "I went to Skulker's after…"

"…Now we must wait until her signature appears on the map," Vlad finished, showing her the map on the computer screen.

Jazz studied the map for a moment, before speaking. "This is cutting it very close; what if Sam and Tucker can't get her out here in time?"

Vlad looked grimly at Danny, who was currently playing with his sister's hair after growing bored of the conversation the man was having with her. "Then you will need to think of a way to convince your parents to allow you a pet badger."

Jazz frowned deeply. "Hold on, are you telling me _you_ don't have a back up plan!" she asked skeptically.

Vlad smirked at Jazz, but she could see he did so with the purpose of hiding something else in his expression. "Of course not… I just prefer to avoid it." He then turned his attention to a nearby cabinet and walked over to it.

Jazz observed the man pull out a watch-like device from the cabinet, but she didn't pay it any mind; her interest was in Vlad himself. Something told her this alternate plan of his was bad news. "You're going to be your old self again, Danny; I promise," she whispered, kissing the top of his head which earn her a soft coo from her brother.

* * *

"Is this the place?" 

"If Danny's map is right, then yeah, this is the place," Sam replied.

"I'm gonna stand on top of the speeder to get a better view," Tucker informed her as he turned off the ship. He then turned to her with a worried look. "Are you sure you want to go out there?"

"Don't worry, Tucker, I can handle Desiree, just make sure you hit her. Vlad didn't say how many shots the bazooka has, so try not to miss," she answered, strapping on a jetpack with the word 'Fenton' on it. Sam grabbed an assault weapon, before pressing a button on the jetpack's controls. The flying device's thrusters quickly came to life and the girl was lifted off the ground. "Good luck, Tucker," Sam said with a smile.

"You too, Sam, and be careful," he asked her with a sober expression. The girl nodded and then flew out of the speeder.

Sam's hand tightened around the gun as she approached a floating purple door. Swallowing nervously she knocked on the door and then quickly moved away from direct sight.

Soon after the door opened, revealing a very tired and irritated wishing ghost. "Who dares to wake-" She halted her words at not seeing anyone there, but she did see a floating vehicle not too far off in the distance. Desiree stepped out of her domain, looking confused and intrigued at the aircraft.

"Morning!" she heard a voice chirp right before something struck her side and pushed her a feet back. The ghost quickly gathered her bearings and turned towards the voice.

Sam gave Desiree a daring smirk, earning a dangerous glare in response. The wishing ghost's right hand grew and stretched out towards Sam, sharp claws forming on each fingertip. The girl quickly evaded it with the help of the equipment strapped on her back and laughed teasingly "Come on! Is that the best you got?" Sam taunted

"Foolish human, you have no idea who you are dealing with" Desiree hissed

Sam fired another attack at the ghost, but this time Desiree dodged it and then threw an ectoplasmic blast in response. The teenager too escaped the assault, but just barely. "Sure I do. You're that ghost who stinks at making wishes!" the girl retorted, covering her nervousness with a smirk.

Desiree's eyes narrowed even more. "I'll make you eat those words" she assured, before charging at the girl.

"You're going to have to catch me first!" Sam exclaimed, taking off towards the speeder.

Desiree lit both her hands with ecto-energy and fired blast after blast at the fleeing girl, who dodged them all. "Wow, you shoot as bad as a _guy_!" the gothic teenager quipped over her shoulder, knowing that the comment would tick off the man-hating ghost.

To her dismay she was too right.

The ghost's aurora flared and her red eyes glowed brighter with rage. Desiree halted her pursuit. She lifted both hands above her head and produced a green mist that quickly reached out towards Sam.

"Sam!" the girl heard her male friend shout before something struck her hard in the back. The teenager let out a startled cry as she tumbled in the air a couple of times.

She quickly righted herself, confusion spread on her expression; Sam didn't understand what had just happened. She didn't feel any pain, just a strong push. So what had the ghost genie done?

Her answer came in a form of something hissing in her left ear. Sam's eyes widened as they locked with a medium-sized, green snake slithering across her shoulders. With a yelped, she knocked it off, only for it to then dissolve into green goo.

Sam turned around, finding Desiree a few feet from her. "Sorry, but you gotta do more then that to scare me," she said calmly, her smirk returning. Sam knew she only needed to get the ghost a few feet closer to the speeder and she would be home free, but when she went to push the button on the jetpack to propel her towards the floating aircraft, she found the jetpack had vanished. The girl gasped when she looked down her frame and confirmed she had just lost what gave her mobility in the empty space around her.

"I wasn't trying to scare you… not yet anyways," Desiree informed, a dark grin appearing on her features. Sam's now fear filled eyes moved towards the evil spirit. Desiree had turned her jetpack into a snake and without it she was just a floating target! Sam quickly lifted the gun in her hand and aimed it at the wishing ghost, who was slowly advancing the immobile girl. "Tucker! Now!" she screamed to her friend.

Tucker, who was standing on top of the speeder, holding the bazooka, aimed it at Desiree, only to find his target was too far. "Sam, she's too far! I might hit you!" Tucker shouted.

The interaction between the two friends caused Desiree to halt and finally notice the other teen. Her expression filled with understanding and she smirked at the floating girl. "I presume you two found the ghost_ boy_… "

Sam shot a blast at the ghost in response, but Desiree easily avoided the expected attack and laughed. "I'll take that as a yes." She crossed her arms in front of her and studied the teenager. "So what is all this? Some pathetic attempt to help him?" she mocked.

"Change Danny back, Desiree!" Sam ordered, her hand tightening on the gun from anger.

The ghost laughed loudly. "It seems you don't realize you are in no position of making demands, human."

Sam held her glare. "You can't hurt me here," she replied boldly.

An evil smile spread on Desiree's face in response to the girl's words. "Are you sure?"

Sam's face paled as she watched the spirit's right hand form a pink mist, which slowly grew denser and swirled around said appendage. The trio had discovered a while ago that ghosts couldn't harm humans in the Ghost Zone, but they had only proven that with physical attacks… she didn't know if she was immune to magic as well…. the jetpack hadn't been…. "Tucker!" the teenage girl screamed with fear, firing an attack at the wishing ghost, but missed.

"Sam!" her friend shouted back. Tucker helplessly saw as the spirit floated closer and closer to Sam with wicked intentions. "I'm going to have to take the shot" he voiced nervously, lifting up the bazooka and aiming it. To his dismay, he found there was no way he could fire without hitting his friend. She was right in the line of fire.

Desiree turned intangible as she avoided another green blast from the girl, who was clearly beginning to panic. "You have doomed yourself in vain, human. Even if I wanted to return your friend back to normal, I could not. Only the one who wished him that way can do anything to aid the ghost boy, and judging by the last time I saw that pompous fool, he can not even aid himself!" the ghost stated with a smug expression. Sam screamed as Desiree fired an ecto ray from her left hand and struck the ghost gun, destroying it into pieces and throwing the girl back from the force.

Sam was severely dazed, but now, Tucker had his chance.

"Hmm… I think I'll turn you both into worms and then feed you to the ghost_ boy_," the wishing ghost said sinisterly, finally extending the mist in her hand towards the girl.

"Tucker! Shoot her!" Sam screamed. Right after, she let out a choked gasped as the mist wrapped around her frame and she began to fill dizzy.

"Hey, Desiree!" Tucker called out, catching the ghost's attention. "Enjoy your trip!"

The evil spirit gasped in surprise as a green ball of energy came at her, smashing directly into her right shoulder, in turn stopping whatever she was about to do to the girl.

She hissed in pain, before glaring at the now very nervous Tucker. "Sam, it didn't work!" he exclaimed.

Desiree took off after the male teen, but abruptly something jerked her back by the arm and she let out a startled cry. The ghost growled upon finding her arm restrained by an invisible force; she pulled and even turned intangible, but try as she might her arm would not budge.

Her eyes broadened as a circle of white light appeared on the shoulder the blast had struck her in and quickly expanded into a swirling vortex. "What is this?!" she screeched as it began to pull her within.

"A free pass to Amity Park" Sam informed with a smug look and crossed arms.

Desiree screamed as she was completely sucked within the portal, before it disappeared.

"Yes!" Tucker shouted, pumping his fist in the air. "Tucker Foley rocks!"

Sam rolled her eyes, but held an amused smile on her face. "When you're finished worshipping yourself can you come get me? I'm starting to get air sick."

"Oh, right," he replied sheepishly, before opening a hatch and jumping back inside the floating ship.

Sam sighed in relief. That was too close for comfort. "Now the rest is in Vlad's hands" She cringed at the fact.

With the help of her friend she quickly got aboard the speeder. "Floor it, Tucker. We need to get to Danny," she said, buckling up.

"Don't need to tell me twice," Tucker replied, whirling the ship in the direction of the billionaire's portal.

* * *

"Staying like that is just going to make things worse for you and Danny," Jazz reprimanded, stopping her pacing and looking at the man, who was currently sitting on a single seat couch 

"I'm aware of that, Jasmine," Vlad retorted tiredly, "but things will be much easier if I confront that wretched ghost in this form and if I change now, I know I will be unable to summon my ghost form again," he explained while observing Danny play with his cat's toy ball on the ground. Maddie too watched the teen, but she did so from the relative safety of the living room entrance.

It was clear the white cat was afraid of him, but unlike before, the badger didn't seem to take too much interest in the cat…. as long as she stayed out of his "territory", which at the moment, consisted of the entire living room and everyone in it.

Jazz didn't reply and instead looked towards the grandfather clock. "They've taken too long," she voiced. "The sun will be up in less then twenty minutes."

Vlad didn't answer. He knew that getting to Desiree's lair would take a good amount of time; the place was fairly deep inside the Ghost Zone, but despite that, it _had_ been too long. The half-ghost thought about his other options, but all of them required Desiree to be in the human world… well, all except for one.

Vlad crossed his arms and stared intently at the badger once more. He didn't understand his hesitation; all this was Danny's fault after all. He was the one who started this with his childish arrogance. …Yes, the billionaire had to admit to himself that he was a bit rash and had ignored the very possible repercussions of seeking the aid of the wishing ghost to punish the teen, but how else was someone of his stature supposed to react after the overconfident teen had the nerve to humiliate him in his own home?

Not only that, but when he attempted to give the teen his well deserved punishment, Danny attempted to humiliate him yet again, but this time, in front of the love of his life. How dare he?!

No, he had every reason to act how he did, and so, he had every reason to let Danny pay for this alone.

Jazz halted her pacing the moment she noticed the dark expression Vlad was staring at her brother with. She purposely cleared her throat and effectively pushed the man from his thoughts. "So, what's this second plan of yours?" she questioned suspiciously.

Vlad didn't remove his gaze from Danny, although he had noticed Jazz's tone of voice. As the badger neared him, the man quickly snatched the small ball from him. The teen, of course, let out angry protests at this. "Why so interested?" Plasmius asked causally, mild amusement on his face as the young hybrid climbed on him to get his ball back.

Jazz frowned as she watched Vlad tease her brother with the cat toy. "You know," Plasmius began with a contemplative expression, "humiliating someone loses its significance when said person doesn't realize he's being humiliated," he stated, before giving the badger his ball back.

Jazz's heart rate accelerated as she realized what the billionaire was currently doing. "Danny, get away from Vlad," she ordered.

Danny glanced over at his sister, upon hearing her voice, but then turned his attention back to Plasmius. "Don't take away my toy again!" he warned with a growl.

"I told you, Jasmine, he can not understand you," the man said, finally looking at her and smiling ruefully. Vlad immediately stopped Danny from leaving by grabbing him. He knew what the girl was thinking, but he had no intentions of alleviating her fears. Her conclusions were right for the most part.

"Come, Daniel, there is something I must show you," he informed, getting up with Danny in his hold.

The badger, who had been fiercely struggling, stopped his attempts of escaping and gave the man a curious look. "What is it?"

"You'll see," Vlad replied calmly.

"Hold on, Vlad." Jazz said firmly, blocking his departure by standing in front of him. "You're not taking my brother anywhere!" Whatever he was planning, she wasn't about to let Danny be part of it. He'd have to go through her first!

The older half-ghost said nothing to the girl in response. Instead, he lifted a watch like contraption on his wrist. "Status?" he questioned, his attention on the device.

**"Sorry, pumpkin, but Desiree the wishing ghost is not in Amity Park."**

Vlad looked back at Danny's sister. "Time's up, Jasmine," he said soberly.

The girl gasped as the man flew up and phased through the ceiling with her brother in his hold. "Danny!" she yelled.

Jazz raced out of the living room and up the stairs. She reached the place where the lab was, only to find the door was locked. "Vlad! No, you can't! Vlad!" she screamed, her eyes filling with fear induced tears. "DANNY!" she cried while she pounded desperately on the door.

* * *

What? It's the second to last chapter; you had to be expecting a cliff hanger! So yes, one more chapter left and it's half-way completed, fun eh? That reminds me, I know I didn't update CM this Saturday, but fear not, it is coming, just got a bit behind, cause of stuff happening in my life as well as my beta's. Anyways, everything should make sense by now, regarding this story, but if it doesn't and you have questions, let me know and I'll clear stuff up. Oh, and the whole ghost communication thing, I was going to add an explanation for Wulf (who would be an exception), which Vlad was going to give, but I felt it was more information then THIS story required, same thing goes with Vlad dying b/c he's losing his ghost half theory. I know it seems it isn't cannon with TUE, but I can assure you, I came up with the theory with it in mind. So, if you want more info on either of those theories or on anything else, you guys know how to get it! Thanks for reading and for all your support! Loves you all! 


	15. Chapter 15: Karma

**Okay final chapter, and it's very long, so happy reading!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom**

**

* * *

****Chapter 15: Karma**

Vlad calmly landed on the floor of his lab, before walking up to the computer mainframe. "Maddie, lockdown the lab, except for the ghost portal," he ordered.

"Right away, sweet cheeks," the hologram said as she appeared.

Danny shifted nervously in the man's hands and his ears lowered in apprehension as odd clicks and buzzing noises sounded around him. "Vlad?" he called fearfully, dropping the ball in his mouth, where it rolled somewhere on the floor.

Right then, he heard muffled pounding and his sister's panicked voice, which made him even more wary. Vlad, on the other hand, totally disregarded the sounds. "I must admit, I never thought things would come down to this, Daniel."

Danny looked up with a confused expression. Why did the man sound so upset? Vlad placed the badger down on a metallic counter, before pulling up a near by stool and sitting in front of the teen. The small animal slowly sat on his rump, his tail curling around his body, while his flashing eyes stayed fixed on the man's red ones. "You don't have the remote notion of what's going to happen to you, do you?" Vlad questioned dejectedly.

Danny just tilted his head. At this, the older half-ghost flicked the teen softly on the nose and smiled. "It's better that way, little badger."

The badger's ears perked and he stood in a playful stance. "Are we hiding from my sister?"

Vlad's expression changed into one of amusement. "You could say that. It's best that she doesn't witness whatever will happen shortly."

"Where did my friends go?"

Vlad sighed. "I wish I knew."

"Let's go find them!" Danny chittered excitedly, "I like to cuddle with Sam, and Tucker makes a fun toy; he even squeaks!"

The billionaire smiled sadly at his one track mind. "We can not. We wouldn't make it."

He then crossed his arms and shook his head. "And to my misfortune, I can not bring myself to take the only solution present to all this." Truth was, every time he even contemplated the idea of _harming_ the teen, he felt sick within. No matter how angry he tried to make himself by remembering everything Danny had done to him, or how many times he would logically list the reasons the teen didn't deserve his mercy, he just couldn't do it! So here he sat with his young rival; awaiting what now seemed to be an inevitable fate for both of them… if there was a time he could be deemed pathetic, this was it, or at least he believed so.

Danny had no clue what Vlad was talking about, but after spending some time with the man, he no longer felt very afraid or untrusting of him, especially now that he looked so troubled.

The young badger placed his front paws on the man's crossed arms and purred as a comforting gesture. "Don't be sad," he cooed. Plasmius wasn't very surprised, and certainly not comforted, by the teen's actions. If anything, they caused him greater sadness. _This_ wasn't the boy he had grown to know so well, because that boy would _never_ act this way towards _him_.

Danny stopped purring at seeing Vlad's gaze move away from him. …He was ignoring his affection. The badger's ears dropped as he removed his paws from the man's crossed arms. He took a few steps away, before sitting back down with a dejected posture. The older half-ghost didn't notice the teen's flashing eyes slow down, staying green longer then brown. Danny sighed, immediately bringing his arch enemy's attention towards him. "I'm sorry," he said, causing the billionaire's eyes to widen in disbelief.

"What?" Plasmius whispered.

Danny looked up at him "I'm sorry that we have never been able to get along."

Vlad uncrossed his arms as his expression softened and a smile appeared on his lips. "So am I, Daniel. I truly wish things could be different," he said with all sincerity before patting the teen on the head.

Danny instantly became content from the man's display of affection and he quickly adapted a playful stance. "Wanna play?"

Vlad chuckled. "I suppose," he replied amused, "but allow me to switch forms; I no longer require my ghost powers." As black rings appeared on his waist, the older half-ghost picked up the ball from the floor the badger had dropped and handed it to him.

"Oh Pumpkin, Desiree, the wishing ghost has arrived in Amity Park," the Maddie program said delightfully.

Vlad's head snapped towards the projection, and cut short his transformation. He quickly walked over to the large computer system. "Exact location?"

"Amity Park's shipping harbor."

The older half-ghost spun back around and grabbed the teen on the bench, earning him a startled yelp. "Hey! Where are we going? I thought we were going to play with my ball!" Danny protested.

"We're playing a new game. It's called, getting to the pier before the sun rises," Vlad said hurriedly as he pulled open a nearby drawer.

He grabbed a red thermos from within and inspected it with a smirk. "This, my boy, is your new toy."

"It is?" Danny asked, curiously looking at the object the man was showing him.

The billionaire did not respond, instead, he secured his hold on the teen before flying upwards and phasing straight through his house. The small creature let out an alarmed cry at the sudden sensations and movement. "Calm yourself and pay close attention," Vlad scolded, soaring higher into the morning sky. "We are about to encounter the ghost responsible for our current state."

Danny cocked his head. "What state is that?"

Plasmius rolled his eyes. "Let's try this again," he said annoyed. "We are about to run into a dangerous ghost."

The badger's ears lowered. "Is it going to try to eat me?"

"No, it's going to try to kill you," Vlad replied bluntly.

Danny began to panic. "I want to go back with my sister!"

"You can not! Danny, listen to me; you must try to understand! You are still in there; I've seen it! You have to fight back these instincts; they are not your own! If we are not successful you will forget everyone you care about; we both will lose our life! Do you understand?"

Danny shut his eyes as he fought to push aside the haze inside his own mind. "Y-Yeah."

"This is a spectral thermos; it captures ghosts or in your terms, a very helpful toy. All you have to do is stay with it if for whatever reason I drop it." Vlad frowned deeply. "I am not certain if undoing the wish will have consequences in itself; I have learned the hard way that not all is as at it seems with Desiree, that it why it is imperative that you do not let her take this away from you. Do not part from this thermos no matter what occurs."

"Guard the toy, got it!" Danny replied.

"Good boy; Now, if I can not-" Vlad abruptly halted whatever he was going to say and let out a sharp grunt. "Blast! Not now," he said through gritted teeth as he halted in mid-flight.

The badger chittered nervously as he observed a strange, glowing, pink mist leave Plasmius' body in waves. "What's wrong?"

Danny's answer came in the form of two black rings appearing around the older half-ghost's waist. The man let out a panicked gasp as Plasmius disappeared, leaving a very human Vlad. "Aahhh!" he screamed as they instantly began to plummet down towards earth.

Vlad shut his eyes in concentration and attempted to call forth his ghost half again. But try as he might, he could not; he could barely feel his powers anymore. If it wasn't for the fact that he was scared out of his mind, he would definitely laugh at the irony in being done in minutes before Desiree's wish would, and all because of his own foolishness no less; how could he have risked flying so fast and so high in his current state?

Danny was beyond panicked. Even he knew there was no way they could survive a fall this high. He suddenly felt Vlad grab him close, in a protecting manner… It was in fact what the man was doing. The billionaire was certain he had no chance of withstanding such a fall, but maybe, he could protect Danny enough for him to. The wish nulled both ways, so at least something positive would come out of this; at least the young hybrid would return to normal. If Vlad survived this somehow, he knew he was going to spend a good deal of time pondering his need to save the boy.

Danny shut his eyes and whimpered as the ground closed in. He didn't notice the glow around his body intensify followed by a sudden halt in midair. Vlad, on the other hand, instantly noticed."

The man stared wide eyed at Danny before risking a turn of his head to confirm what he felt. Indeed they were no longer falling; they were hovering a few feet above the ground. Vlad turned his eyes back to the glowing and shaking badger.

"Daniel," he called in a raspy voice caused by the screaming he was doing a moment ago. The instant the teen opened his eyes, both half-ghosts dropped the remaining feet. Vlad moaned as the back of his skull, and his spine, impacted the concrete below. He sat up and rubbed his sore head. "That was extremely close," he mumbled.

Danny just stared at his surroundings in confusion. He had no idea how they had survived such a fall. It was then he noticed that Vlad didn't look like Vlad. The badger yelped and jumped off the man's torso. "What's going on? Where did Vlad go and who's this guy?" he asked nervously.

"Ow" Vlad complained, still dazed. He quickly came back to at seeing Danny slowly retreating from him. "No, Daniel. It's me. I'm Vlad. Remember, I told you I was half-ghost like you? Well, this is my human form."

The teen just stared at him. He had no idea what the man was saying. "Oh, cherry strudels! He does not understand me and I-" He cursed once again before addressing the badger.

"Daniel, we _really_ don't have time for this." Vlad said worriedly. He then quickly recalled the thermos in his hand. "Daniel, look, it's me. Remember this?" he asked gently.

The teen looked at the thermos the man held and his ears lowered. _"The toy… Why does he have it? Unless…"_ He sniffed the air. _"Hey, that guy _is_ Vlad!" _

The billionaire sighed in relief at seeing Danny had figured it out. He walked up to the badger and picked him up, only to receive a hard bite on his right hand.

"Aah!" the man screeched, grasping his bitten hand with the other. "What the blazes was that for?!" Vlad asked the growling badger, who was now sitting on his left shoulder.

"_That was for scaring me, twice,"_ Danny informed angrily

Vlad grabbed the teen off his shoulder. "Remind me to get you back for that when all this is over, but right now we need to get to the pier…" He looked around at their surroundings. Luckily, they were about two blocks away. "I don't suppose you can fly us there?" he asked the half-ghost badger.

Danny tilted his head to the side.

"I didn't think so," he murmured dryly. Without any other option left, Vlad ran towards their destination.

* * *

... 

Sam jumped out of the speeder the moment the vehicle landed in the billionaire's lab. "Come on, Tucker, let's go find Danny!" she said urgently, a Fenton thermos in her right hand.

"Wait, Sam, we can't just run out there without anything to defend ourselves and Danny with," he said, before grabbing the first two ghost weapons he saw in the back of the speeder, which happen to be the Fenton ghost rod and the ecto-lipstick. Tucker jumped out of the ship and was about to head to the lab's mainframe, when soft weeping caught his and Sam's attention.

The goth girl ran over to the door, realizing that the sound was coming from outside the lab. "What? I can't get out! Tucker, the door's bolted shut!"

The boy ran up to his friend and attempted to pull the door open. "Hey, it's locked!"

Sam gave him a dry look. "Oh, yeah, you already said that," he reflected meekly.

"Hello! Is anyone out there?" Tucker yelled, knocking on the door a few times.

The teens heard the weeping halt, before loud shuffling, as if someone was sprinting to their feet, replaced it. "Tucker?" Jazz's cracked voice questioned.

"Jazz?" Sam and Tucker replied confused.

"Let me in!" she suddenly shrieked, pounding on the door again.

"Let you in? We want to get out," Tucker replied.

"No, you two don't understand; Vlad, he took Danny in there and I think he's going to…hold on, they're not in there?!"

Sam shook her head. "No; there's no one but us here. Vlad and Danny probably headed to wherever Desiree is," she stated, not understanding why her friend's sister sounded so scared.

"Are you sure? I-I was sure he was going to hurt Danny, Sam!"

The goth girl became really apprehensive as Skulker's words came back to her mind. No, she wasn't sure… what if… "Tucker, we have to find a way out of here! …Tucker?" she called, realizing he was no longer beside her.

"I'm over here, Sam" he replied, his attention to the lab's mainframe. "He locked everything down…. I don't know why…" The last part was just a murmur.

"Hang on, Jazz, Tucker's going to try to unlock the door." Sam said, before running over to her friend.

Right then the Maddie program activated and appeared next to Tucker. "You called, honey m- Wait a minute, you are not my cherry tart," the hologram stated looking at the techno geek with a frown.

"Uh, yeah…" Tucker said uncomfortably. "Man, I don't know what's more disturbing, that he named his cat Maddie or that he has a virtual program of her" he said under his breath.

"Unlock the doors," Sam ordered, walking up behind "Maddie".

The animated figure curiously tilted her head at the two teens, before shaking her head. "Sorry, no can do; Masters ordered me to lock down the lab," she informed, crossing her arms in front of her.

"Look, you obsessed man's crazy projection, if you-

"Sam," Tucker cut off, "it's a computer program; you can't argue with it; if anything you have to be tender to it; speak its lingo," he said with a smile as he turned back to the mainframe.

Sam looked at her friend weirdly, but then a whirling sound redirected her attention. The girl gasp at seeing a gun pointed at her from the ceiling. "There's nothing wrong with being a little obsessed!" the hologram growled.

"Ugh… Tucker?" Sam called warily, before dodging a blast. "Tucker! Turn this thing off!" she yelled as more guns appeared and aimed at her.

"Hold on, Sam, I'm trying to find out where Desiree's at," he replied, his focus fully on the mainframe.

The girl continued to dodge and duck as assaults came at her, while her friend calmly worked with the computer system. "Yes, I'm in!" the male teen exclaimed, "let's see… ooo, nice; I got to get me one of these; I wonder what…No, no, focus dude… Okay, mapping program….Here it is! ….She's at the docks!"

Sam stared wide eyed at the guns that now had her completely surrounded. "Masters has ordered me to terminate all intruders," the hologram said with a sinister smile at the girl.

Suddenly all the weapons retracted and Maddie gasped. She turned towards the other teen with a frown. "May I ask what you think you are doing?" she said, moving towards Tucker. "I'll have you know my love cake does not like others meddling with his things."

"Sorry, but we need to get to Danny," Tucker replied, "so please unlock the lab."

Maddie crossed her arms. "You might have gained control of the system, but you do not know the password, and without it I can not carry out your command."

"Maddie Masters" Sam and Tucker said at the same time.

Automatically the Maddie program snapped her fingers and the entire lab unlocked. "How did you know?"

Sam scoffed. "It's not that hard to figure out."

The projection watched as the two kids headed towards the door with a frown, but then her demeanor became its usual cheery one. "Oh well, I better go make tea and cookies for when my dumpling returns," she said excitedly before disappearing.

"Tucker, do you know where they're at?" Jazz asked as the two younger teens stepped out.

"I think they're at the pier…but the sun will be up any minute; I don't even think we'll make it there in time," Tucker said worriedly.

"We're going to try anyways; come on," Sam said before sprinting into a run down the hall. The other two teens raced after her and headed towards the exit as fast as they could, knowing every second counted.

* * *

"If… I knew….. I ….would… be running…… a marathon… I would have…. worn… the proper… attire," Vlad gasped out, his body hunched over as he tried to regain control of his breathing. 

Danny's ears were lowered as he stared around their current location. Except for the sounds of seagulls the area was completely silent. Vlad straightened his position and walked toward the pier, his eyes narrowed with resolve. Desiree had to be around here somewhere and he knew she would most likely be expecting him. He had no means of surprising the ghost, especially now that he was in his human form, but that didn't mean he would let her surprise him. Luckily, his ghost sense would prevent that.

The man halted his movements at feeling Danny shudder in his hands, unaware that the reason was due to his ghost sense triggering a few seconds before. _"S-Something's here"_ the badger warned.

Vlad bit the inside of his lower lip as he directed his eyes to a small warehouse a few feet in front of them. _"Sugar canes! I should have brought an assault weapon of some sort,"_ he thought angrily. He had never counted on having such a large energy drain before confronting the wishing ghost and so he didn't even ponder the idea of bringing any form of ghost weapon. Everything he needed to defend himself was naturally built into him, or it use to be; he wasn't sure if he could even form an energy blast in his hand at the moment. Vlad sighed before continuing forward; something told him the being he was looking for was somewhere within that storage room.

"_Vlad,"_ the badger chirped nervously as the man approached the warehouse. Danny didn't want to go where the older half-ghost seemed determined to go to. Whatever he sensed earlier it was in there. _"Vlad… d-don't go in there."_

"Daniel, be quiet," the billionaire whispered harshly. He turned the knob on the door and found it was unlocked. The man tightened his grasp on the thermos as he entered the small storage room. The badger's nervousness was indication enough for him that Desiree was in here, so why could he not sense her?

It was then that Danny's ghost sense went off again, and this time Vlad saw it. The man tensed as the teen jumped on his shoulder and growled at something behind him. He realized at that moment, his ghost sense wasn't working…

Vlad whirled around only to get blasted in the chest by a green beam. Danny instantly lost his footing and ended up on the ground, where he roughly rolled until a collision with a large box brought him to a stop. As for the older hybrid, he was tossed into several stacked, plastic containers that fell around him after impact.

Danny pressed himself against the large box behind him as he fearfully watched the being that attacked them float towards the man's fallen form. He wanted to move, to do something, as he watched the women's hands light up with green flames, but his instincts kept him frozen in place.

"I knew you were behind this," Desiree growled, staring down at the billionaire with a menacing glare.

Vlad didn't even bother to pull himself up. He wasn't trying to fight the ghost; that could wait until later; all he was focused on was getting out a few words from his mouth. "I wish- Aah!" he screamed as Desiree slammed him further into the hard containers.

"Oh no, you are not making anymore wishes, _ever,_" she said sinisterly. The wishing ghost wrapped her hand around the man's neck causing his eyes to widen in alarm as she began to squeeze. "Fool, do you really think I'm going to let you undo this wish. With the ghost boy gone there will be no one to get in the way of my spell binding. I will become all powerful!"

All Vlad could do was glare at Desiree while attempting to dislodge her hand. He needed to speak, but she was cutting off his oxygen supply very efficiently. He knew, however, that the ghost could not waste him or the wish would null for Danny. She was just trying to diminish what little time they had, and to his increasing despair, he couldn't do anything to prevent it. "You should be glad, ghost man, Together, we have done what no one else has been able to; we have defeated the ghost boy!"

"Leave him alone!" Desiree heard from behind her. She turned her head and was surprised to see a small badger, growling dangerously at her.

Her shock quickly melted and she threw her head back and cackled hysterically. "Oh! This is too adorable! I should thank those two humans for forcing me out here. I can't even recall the last time I have been this amused!"

Danny's eyes narrowed. He could feel this ghost was very dangerous, but he refused to listen to his instincts. He was not going to sit back and watch her harm one of the only people he knew and liked. "I'm warning you; back off!"

Desiree raised an eyebrow at seeing the teen begin to glow green. Her surprise quickly vanished, however, and she let out a sympathetic sigh. "Tsk-tsk, you poor, naïve child, you don't remember who he is, do you?" She looked at Vlad and smirked. "You're very wicked. I'm surprised you haven't destroyed him in order to save yourself."

She turned back to Danny. "Don't waste your energy in trying to help the person responsible for your condition, ghost boy. This man here is no friend of yours, in fact, you two are sworn enemies; the only reason he is helping you now is because it benefits him to do so; Why else do you think those instincts of yours tell you he's dangerous? To keep away from him?" she said, an evil smile growing on her features.

Vlad growled and struggled harder against Desiree's iron grip. He didn't need to see the teen to know she had struck a nerve with her words. And he was correct.

Danny's aggressive posture dropped although his ears remained lowered, but from trepidation. Somehow he knew the ghost wasn't lying. He took a few steps back as his flashing eyes slowed down. "You're right; they are telling me that but…. these instincts are not mine," he said, shutting his eyes for a moment at recalling Vlad's words. He quickly opened them and glared at the ghost in front of him, "and I'm not listening to them or YOU!" A wave of ecto energy left Danny's body and slammed directly into Desiree. She shrieked in surprise as she was hurled back several feet, before she painfully collided into storage boxes. "He might be my enemy, but right now, you're a bigger one!" he snarled, running towards her fallen form.

Vlad rose to his knees, his right hand wrapped around his throat as he coughed violently. He looked up through blurry eyes and saw Danny lounge at the ghost. Desiree, however, turned intangible and flew up to a standing position. "Why you little freak!" she hissed, before throwing a large energy blast at the teen.

Danny yelped as he dodged the attack. Vlad stood just as Danny ran towards Desiree once more; this time, the ghost made no attempt to move away.

Vlad's eyes widened as the wishing ghost formed a large energy blast in her right hand, which she held hidden behind her back. An evil grin spread on her features as Danny came into range.

"No!" the man shouted, aiming his own hand at Desiree. He fired a blue ecto ray at her just in time to throw her aim array.

Danny gasped as a hot green blast flew past him, missing him only by a couple of inches. He looked back at Vlad, only to see him collapse to his knees. A pink mist once again formed around his body before it dissipated into the air. The teen immediately ran towards him. _"Vlad?"_ he called worriedly upon reaching him.

The man just continued to breathe heavily as more waves left his body. "Danny… t-the thermos," he whispered, showing him his empty hands in hopes that the teen caught on. "F-Find it."

The badger tilted his head, before his eyes widened in realization. _"The toy? Where- Aahh!"_ the teen cried as a hand painfully slapped him out of the way, and threw him a few feet away.

"You really should have conserved your energy more efficiently," Desiree said as she raised the billionaire to her eye level, only to slam him back down again. Vlad groan at feeling his weakened body jolt with pain.

The half conscious man felt himself get lifted by his shirt collar yet again, but this time the wishing ghost did so with another intention. "Let's take this outside, shall we? I'm sure you do not want to miss the last sunrise you will ever see," she whispered evilly in his ear.

Meanwhile Danny had finally managed to get his bearings. A distressed sound came from his throat as he watched Desiree float out of the warehouse with Vlad in her grasp. He was about to run after them, when he remembered the "toy."

The badger's eyes filled with hesitation. He wanted to help Vlad, but the man had told him earlier that if he dropped the thermos, he was to stay with it. Where was that thing anyways?

Danny sniffed around, and quickly picked up a familiar scent. He ran towards it and soon found himself catching sight of the red and silver device. He climbed over a few fallen boxes in order to reach the thermos behind them.

"Great, now what am I suppose to do? I can't just stay in here, and leave Vlad by himself," he pondered worriedly, "why is this so important anyways? I mean, I would get sad if I lost my toy too, but if he didn't want to lose it why did he bring it? ...but he said it was _my_ toy; am I suppose to do something with it?"

Danny sighed. No matter how important this thing was he couldn't just stay in here, while Vlad and that ghost were out there… but maybe, he could keep it safe without having to watch it. Danny looked around for a good hiding place. "I need to put it where only I would think of going… there!" The teen quickly pushed the thermos out of its current location and towards the spot he thought it would be safe at.

* * *

Despite his weakened state, Vlad struggled to get free; he even attempted to phase out of her hold but it only left him feeling worse. "I-I- 

"Uh-uh," Desiree said, producing an ecto gag and attaching it to the half-ghost's mouth. "I said no wishing for you, remember? I can not have you ruining one of the best spells I have ever performed; it would a crime!"

Vlad's eyes narrowed; he was sick of this wretched ghost! No one made a fool out of him and got away with it! The man grabbed the hand that held him by his collar and squeezed, before using his own momentum to kick the ghost in the stomach, or at least he tried to. His foot went straight through her, and instead of causing her pain, he caused it to himself. The man wasn't able to suppress a gag after his actions tightened the ghost's hold on his collar, and momentarily chocked him. Desiree laughed in response. "You're so pathetic, ghost man!"

"Hey ugly! Don't you know how dangerous it is to make a badger angry?" Desiree looked down towards the voice only to have Danny lounge at her face. "And you just made me VERY angry!"

"Aahh!" the women yelled from pain. She immediately dropped Vlad, her hands grasping unto Danny to pull him off her. An alarmed gasp left her at feeling the badger's body charging with hot, ghost energy. Knowing full well that signified, she growled and quickly wrapped her hands around his small head, tight enough to make him cry in pain.

Vlad glared at the ghost and quickly stood to aid the teen, but before he could do anything, the boy did. Desiree yelped as she felt sharp fangs insert into her hand, causing her to let go of the badger. Danny fell to the ground with a small whimper. The glow on his body began to slowly fade, and his green eyes changed into a sapphire blue.

Desiree quickly recovered and sent an energy blast at Danny, but Vlad saw it coming and grabbed the teen in roll before it could strike him.

The man got to his feet just in time to dodge another attack from the ghost. The older hybrid ran towards a large stack of boxes, knowing they needed cover fast. Before he could get there, however, Desiree materialized in front of him and punched him in the face.

Vlad fell back with Danny on his stomach. He quickly let go off the still dazed badger and grabbed the ecto gag on his face, desperately trying to pull it off.

"I think I'll just destroy you both now," the ghost growled, her eyes vivid with fury.

Danny looked up at the approaching ghost and pressed himself closer to Vlad, clearly scared out of his wits. Desiree raised her hands up in the air, a large ball of pink energy growing in between them. "The little hero and his nemesis will perish together." A sinister smile spread on her lips. "I truly can not think of anything more fitting. Good-bye to you both."

Just when she was about to fire, a glowing string wrapped itself around Desiree's raised arms. Said ghost gasped, the ball of energy in her hands vanishing from her shock. "Leave my brother alone, Ghostly Geina!!" she heard behind her before being assaulted by a sharp jolt of electricity that quickly coursed her entire body.

Vlad smirked as the ecto gag disappeared the second Desiree began to screech from pain. Danny's ears perked at seeing his friends and sister a few feet away from him. _"Sam, Tucker, Jazz!"_ he chirped excitedly and took off towards them.

The ghost genie managed to break free of the ecto rope, but the attack had been too much. She fell to the ground and moaned softly from pain. "Anytime, Vlad," Sam urged.

Vlad stood and approached the fallen ghost. "Desiree, I wish for you to undo the spell you have placed on Daniel and me."

Desiree moved herself to a sitting position with the help of her hands, but instead of raising her hands to grant the wish, she threw her head back and laughed wickedly.

The man raised an eyebrow at her actions; that was definitely not what he expected to occur.

Vlad felt his heart skip several beats at hearing gasps from Danny's friends and sister just before Desiree looked up at him with a triumphant and evil smile. "Too late."

Vlad whirled around to face the harbor; his eyes widened at seeing the sun slowly rising in the horizon. It almost seemed like time had stopped as everyone remained frozen, watching the beautiful yet dooming bright orb rise higher and higher into the sky.

It was Danny's cry of pain that brought everyone back. The badger, who had had stopped his approach towards his friends and sister, after hearing Desiree's laugh, was gripping at his head, a glowing pink hue around him.

"Danny!" the three teens cried, running to his side.

It was then Vlad felt his head spin, and he began to wobble unsteady on his feet. He looked at his hands and realized he too was glowing with a pink hue, but unlike the teen, the mist was moving away from him and towards the boy, where it wrapped faster and faster, creating a strange swirling cloud around him.

Desiree smirked as the man fell to his knees with a groan. The man's breathing turned shallow, while his remaining white strands of hair slowly began to change to their original dark color. Everything became distant to the man, except for the badger's now pained whimpers. He forced himself to look at the teen; his mind still unable to accept that this was actually happening.

Danny squeezed his eyes shut, unaware of the concerned and desperate people around him. He felt like his head was going to explode as images overwhelmed his mind. He could see his entire life flashing before him; everyone in it, everything he did, who he was…. He finally remembered… but as quick as his memories were coming back they were disappearing into what looked like an endless abyss. He felt his mind slowly drifting into darkness as if he was falling asleep, but somehow, he knew he would not wake again. The last thing the teen saw as he lost all form of awareness where the faces of his loved ones, and then, there was nothing else.

Vlad wrapped his arms around his torso as he felt his ghost half fade away from existence. He looked away from Danny unable to watch him any longer from guilt, but the moment he did so, he felt a hand painfully grasp his face. "No, you can not look away now; keep watching; this is the best part," the wishing ghost said with evil glee.

Vlad's breath hitched as the badger's eyes slowly opened. The man's eyes sadden and regret filled him at seeing them a deep brown. The small animal looked up in confusion at the three people around him. But suddenly, he snarled at them and his hair stood on end.

"Danny…" Jazz chocked out in a sob, they too had seen the creature's brown eyes.

The badger hissed menacingly as he retreated from them, before turning around and running towards the closest shelter he could find, which happen to be the storage shed he had recently been in with Vlad. He quickly headed in and found a good place to hide…

Feeling safe once more, he sniffed around before noticing something shiny a little further in. He tilted his head in curiosity, clearly intrigued by the strange object. The badger pushed it with its nose, causing it to roll away from him. The small animal's ears perked in contentment, before chasing after the rolling object; he continued to play carelessly, unaware of the events transpiring right outside…

* * *

Jazz wept in her hands. She couldn't believe that they had failed; that her brother was gone; all that was left was a normal, wild badger. Sam and Tucker, however, seem to be in a state of shock since they just stared towards the place the small animal had scurried off to. 

Meanwhile Vlad had his face buried in one of his hands while trying to calm his breathing. He felt so weak, so helpless, and yet what really got to him was the emptiness he felt within; he had never felt something as horrible; and knowing why he felt this way made it even worse. Half of his self was gone, and it was only a matter of time before the rest of him followed…

"Still alive, ghost man?" he heard Desiree tease from somewhere in front of him.

Vlad's hands fisted on his side and his breathing turned even shallower. "You will regret this, you despicable wench," he wheezed out.

The ghost growled at his insult and struck the man in the abdomen with a powerful blow from her tail. Vlad's much needed oxygen supply was painfully taken from him as he was lifted off the ground before falling back down on his stomach. He heavily gasped and coughed, desperately trying to take in air.

At seeing Desiree attack the former half-ghost, Sam finally came to her senses. Her eyes narrowed, before she sprinted towards the ghost. This in turn snapped Tucker into action as well. "Sam!" he yelled chasing after her.

"I wish that you change him back!" the girl screamed, activating the thermos in her hand and aiming it at Desiree. The ghost quickly turned around and looked at the furious girl with a calm expression. "I can not; the wish has been fully carried out," she said with an even smile.

Sam's breathing became heavier, the device in her hand shaking with her own body. "Change. him. back! I swear, I'll trap you in here and never let you out!" she screamed, tears forming in her eyes

Desiree's expression changed into a dangerous glare, and her hands began to light with ecto energy. "Don't even think about it," Tucker warned, aiming the ecto-lipstick at the ghost.

Through this Jazz had run over to the billionaire and collapsed next to him. "Vlad! Vlad! Look at me! Tell me there's something else we can do! Tell me my brother is not gone!" she sobbed, grabbing the man's collar and shaking him the best she could. To her building panic, all the man did was limp in her hold, much like a rag doll; He looked like he was…

"Fools! This is over! There is nothing you can do!" Desiree shouted furiously.

Sam charged the thermos with the intention of trapping the ghost, but before she could Vlad's broken voice stopped her. "N-No," he grunted out as he slowly lifted himself to his feet, "This is not over" he said, glaring weakly up at the wishing ghost.

Before anyone could react, Desiree lounged at him and lifted him into the air. "Stupid man, don't you get it? You have lost! This game of yours is over! And it's time for you to accept the consequences," she said darkly, loosening her hold on him.

"I-I suppose I s-should," he responded softly, much to the spirit's surprise. He looked at her with half lidded eyes. "I-I have… brought this on m-myself… after all. I-If only…t-these last two days were erased… and Daniel and I remembered all this would …h-happen, we could prevent it."

Desiree shrugged carelessly "Yes, you probably could, but that's not-

Her eyes widened as the man smirked weakly at her, while the three teens below also portrayed disbelief at realizing the importance of what the man just said.

Vlad opened his mouth to speak again. "T-That was a w-Ahh!"

"NO!" Jazz screamed as Desiree blasted the man in the chest, sending him flying through the air, before his body impacted the hard ground. The sixteen year old ran towards the billionaire's unmoving form, while pleading he was alright.

Desiree's eyes glowed with hatred as she formed an energy ball in her hand. "Think you're clever, don't you?" she snarled.

"Tucker, Desiree! We have to stop her!" Sam shouted at seeing the ghost floating towards Vlad.

Tucker's hands fumbled with the ecto-lipstick, but he quickly fixed his hold on it and shot a blast at Desiree. The ghost caught sight of the incoming attack through her peripheral vision and narrowly dodged the attack.

Sam, who had found the ghost rod on the ground, quickly sent it towards the evil spirit. The line successfully wrapped around the ghost's abdomen. Desiree struggled fiercely as Sam began to pull on the rope with the purpose of throwing her off balance. "Tucker! Help!" the girl grunted, clearly no match for the strong women.

Tucker sprinted towards his friend and helped her pull on the rope just in time to stop Desiree from releasing an ecto ray. The genie cried in alarm as she fell to the ground face first.

Tucker chanced a look towards where Jazz had ran off to and noticed she was sitting beside Vlad, looking severely distressed. His attention went back to his friend and the wishing ghost as they continued to keep her at bay.

"Vlad!" Jazz yelled, grabbing the man's body and turning it over so he was on his back. Her heart almost jumped out of her chest as her eyes took in Vlad Masters appearance. His complexion had turned a ghost white, his eyes were closed, and she wasn't sure if he was still breathing since his chest gave no indication of it.

"Vlad? Vlad, can you hear me?" she asked, shaking him lightly. The man's dulled eyes open slightly, quickly giving her a small ray of hope. "Oh thank goodness! Vlad, you have to finish the wish! Please, I don't know how long Sam and Tucker can keep Desiree at bay."

The man opened his mouth, but all he did was take in a pitiful breath of air. The girl bit her lip as she placed two fingers on his neck and checked his pulse… It was barely there.

Jazz began to shake as her fear began to overwhelm her. "V-Vlad, can we finish it? Vlad! Can you hear me? Will it work if I finish the wish?!"

Vlad's eyebrows creased in sadness and he made a small "no" movement with his head, only to let out a chocked cough. Jazz's eyes widened with horror at seeing the billionaire's eyes begin to close. "N-no, no, no! Please! You have to finish it! You said everything except for one word; just one word! Please, say, wish!"

The man's breathing grew short and rapid; as a pained expression grew on his face. Jazz began to sob. "Vlad, please," she whispered, tears freely falling down her face, "y-you can't let this happen. Danny, my little brother, h-he doesn't deserve this! Vlad… he doesn't deserve this, a-and neither do you…"

"Jazz!" the girl heard Danny's friends yell from a few feet away, their voices sounding panicked. If she would have turned her head; she would have found Sam and Tucker being held on the ground by Desiree's stretched out hands, and the look on her face showed she held ill intentions for them.

"Finish the wish, Vlad" Jazz begged in a chocked voice.

Vlad opened his mouth once more; he wanted to finish the wish, he really did, but he couldn't even bring enough air to his lungs. Everything felt so numb, even the pain had left his body and an immense tiredness had replaced it. His body and mind begged him to give into unconsciousness, but that meant giving into this pitiful fate. No, he didn't want that. Things just couldn't end this way.

The man's breathing turned into weak gasps as he attempted to use his vocal cords and failed.

"Vlad!" he heard a voice scream as he felt himself drifting away… the former half-ghost halted his short intakes of air for a moment, his murky mind only thinking one thing.

This was his last chance to save himself… to save Danny.

With all his remaining strength, Vlad forced his body to take a single, but deeper intake of air.

He held it in.

And then his lips moved.

"W-wish," he said softly as he released his final breath and his eyes closed completely.

Jazz whirled towards Desiree just in time to see her hands rising above her; by the angry look on her face, it was clearly against her will.

A bright pink glow appeared around the ghost's hands before it extended in all directions. Sam, Tucker, and Jazz, let out a gasp as they became engulfed in the strange mist-like energy. Their minds began to spin, their vision quickly darkened, and then…

They knew no more.

* * *

"_Danny?"_

"_Danny!"_

"To kill a Mocking bird! Mr. Fenton!

"W-What?" Danny said dazedly as he finally became aware that someone was calling him. "M-Mr. Lancer?" he questioned confused, his vision still not fully focused.

The boy's teacher continued to give him a look of disbelief. He had been calling to Danny for the past minute without receiving any form of acknowledgement. He just stared vacantly at him, like he wasn't there. Now, the teen was acting as if he didn't know why he was with him. The boy was truly an enigma sometimes.

"I think I'll just pretend that you were reflecting on your deeds today and you have seen the errors of your ways," the teacher said dryly.

"Huh?" Danny replied, looking up at his teacher from the desk he sat in

Mr. Lancer rolled his eyes. "Detention's over, Danny; go home," the man said with tired resignation, and then left towards his own desk to sit down. "Oh and this is not the cafeteria; if you want soup, wait until you get home," he added in an annoyed tone, while pulling out a stack of papers.

"_Soup?"_ Danny looked down at his hands and his eyes slowly widened with shock. There, in his grasp, was a red and silver ghost thermos. Like a strike of lightening, everything came back into his mind, and he jumped to his feet. "No way!"

"Yes way; it's amazing how time flies when you are daydreaming instead of doing your homework," Mr. Lancer said dryly, his eyes to an exam he was grading.

Danny didn't hear a word he said; he was currently staring at his _human_ body and his surroundings in a semi-panicked state. He wasn't a badger anymore! He was human again, but… how did that happen? Vlad didn't make the wish in time! And why was he at school when he was with the billionaire at the pier a second ago… wasn't he?

The teen looked back at the thermos in his hand. All that couldn't have been a dream; the thermos was proof of that. He nervously walked up to his teacher, hoping the man would bring some order into his muddled mind. "S-So, I-I'm in detention?" he asked slowly.

Mr. Lancer gazed up at him and raised an eyebrow. "No, you were. As I said_ twice_ already, you can go home."

Danny just stared with unblinking eyes, causing the educator to frown. The boy looked completely lost. "Mr. Fenton, are you alright? Perhaps I should call your parents to pick you up…"

This got a reaction from the teen. "Huh? No! Don't call them! I-I mean, I'm fine. I don't… I'll just go now," he said, moving back to his desk, "… because… detention… is over," he whispered to himself in confusion. He bent down to grab his backpack, only to discover it wasn't there; he didn't have it with him. Before he could add this to his list of odd occurrences, his ghost sense went of, and he gasped.

"Danny?"

"I'm fine! R-Really, I'm-I'm good," he said nervously, while Mr. Lancer stared at him with concern. Before the man could say anything, Danny all but ran to the door. "Later, Mr. Lancer," he stated quickly and walked out.

Once out there, the half-ghost sprinted towards the school's exit, the images playing over and over again in his mind giving him the fuel to move unbelievable fast. As he ran, his eyes darted around for any sign of the ghost that had triggered his ghost sense, all the while attempting to swallow his building panic. "Okay, just calm down, Fenton; there has to be a logical explanation for all this; you are not going crazy."

He reached outside and realized by the dusking sun that it was late afternoon. "Oh man, I haven't been this confused since my dad entered me in a math contest! What the heck is going on?"

"You're about to be hunted, that's what," a sinister voice replied.

Danny whirled around, only to get slammed with a green net that sent him to the ground. The teen gasped as he looked up and found Skulker hovering above him, a large gun aimed at him. "Skulker?" he questioned, totally lost

The hunter frowned. "Of course! Who else would want to claim your pelt?"

Danny yelped as he rolled away from an energy blast. He quickly turned into Phantom and phased out of the trap. With another gasp, he noticed Skulker was coming at him with a glowing blade.

The ghost boy dodged the swipe the hunter took at his head. Having enough, Danny's eyes narrowed as he raised a hand to fire an ecto-blast at his enemy, but the one he raised just so happen to be holding the thermos. Thinking quickly, he brought his other hand up and aimed the ghost device at Skulker.

The hunter, who was about strike down the teen with his sword, immediately froze, and dropped the weapon his hand. His eyes had grown wide as he stared at the ghost device inches from his chest. To Skulker's surprise the teen didn't activate it.

Danny took a few steps back from his enemy, and lowered the thermos half-way. "Okay," he said, breathing heavily from exertion. "I am so not in the mood for this, Skulker. Just tell me what's going on. You have to know something; what happened? Where's Vlad? How did I turn human again?!" he questioned angrily.

The ghost blinked at him for a moment. "What?" he could only answer. He quickly dismissed his bafflement and sighed in annoyance. "First of all, I don't have the remote clue what you speak of, and secondly… how did you get a hold of _that_ device?" he asked warily. There was no doubt in the hunter's mind. That device was his employer's; he would know; he helped him make several of them. Why did his prey have one?

"… You don't know…But that's not possible! I mean, y-you were there; you know Vlad turned me into badger… you saw me…and…" The teen fell silent as his eyes darted in confusion

"Whelp, my employer must have hit you one time too many," Skulker said looking at him like he was crazy. Whatever the teen was babbling about, it definitely connected to his employer. The ghost bent over and picked up his blade, while his guns retracted back into his suit. "I've decided to leave this for another day," he informed, his eyes going back to the thermos for a moment, before taking to the sky.

"No, wait, don't go!" the teen shouted, flying after him. "All of that was real! You don't' remember anything?!"

Skulker glared. "Look, ghost child; I'm letting you go; I suggest you leave before I change my mind." Danny threateningly aimed the thermos at him, causing the ghost to let out a fearful gasp. "O-Or I'll leave…" he said meekly.

"Answer my question!"

"I already told you, I don't know what you're talking about! You must have dreamt whatever you're babbling about. How in the Ghost Zone would my employer turn you into an earthly animal, and even if he could, he isn't _that_ crazy!"

"But-"

"Good bye, ghost child," the hunter cut off angrily, before flying away.

Danny was too stunned to do anything but watch the ghost leave. The teen's eyes went to the thermos as he floated back to the ground.

"_Do not part from this thermos no matter what occurs"_

"Vlad dropped it," he recalled, "I-I…. hid it, and then I…left it" he slowly added, his eyebrows creased with uncertainty. He left the thermos in the warehouse to aid Vlad, so how did he end up with it? He didn't remember anything after the sun came up.

He gave a glance back at Casper High and shook his head. As much as he tried, he couldn't make sense of any of this. "How did I end up here?" he asked himself once more. He growled in frustration. "I don't even know _why_ I just had detention! The last time I did anything to get me in trouble was Fri-"

Danny's eyes widened in realization. "Friday, I had detention Friday because I showed up really late to school after what happened with Cujo," he whispered, "I left my book bag at home and forgot to-" The teen changed back. "I'm in my gym clothes" he said in shock as he looked over his attire. "No way; this has to be some freaky coincidence! But… I also fought with Skulker Friday! Oh man! I ran into Skulker and-"

Danny's ghost sense went off.

"Me," the wishing ghost growled. The teen shouted in alarm as a large clawed hand came down on him from above. He quickly rolled out of the way, before he ended up pinned between the hand and the ground.

He jumped to his feet as he looked up at Desiree, who held a severely ticked off expression. "That arrogant freak might have managed to find a way to slither his way out of his fate, but _you_ won't be as lucky. I'll make sure of that right now!" she assured, lounging at the teen.

From pure reflex, Danny fired an ecto blast at the ghost, effectively pushing her away. "What? You mean Vlad did all this?" he questioned, clearly more interested in getting answers then fighting.

Desiree, however, ignored him and quickly fired a ghost ray at the unprepared teen. "Aahh!" he screamed, as the attack struck him square in the chest, in turn, making him drop the thermos.

The teen moaned in pain as he pushed himself to his knees. His mind was in such chaos he just couldn't focus, but he knew he needed to or he was going to be taken out quickly. _"Well, at least I have a thermos this time,"_ he mused dryly, only for his eyes widened with understanding.

Desiree took the ghost boy's distractive state to grab a hold of him. "Hey, let go of me!" he protested, fighting against the ghost's grasp around his neck.

"Sorry, you didn't say, wish," she teased darkly, "and I'm not giving you the chance to." An evil smile grew on Desiree's features as she tightened her hold on him.

Danny struggled frantically to escape; somehow she was blocking his intangibility power. Forcing his mind to think past the depletion of oxygen, he produced ecto energy in both his hands, which were grasping the ghost's own hands.

Desiree cried out in pain and immediately let go of the teen. Danny violently coughed as he fell to the ground, but quickly recovered at seeing the wishing ghost do the same. He dodged an ecto ray by flying out of its path. He quickly spotted the ghost device he had dropped and flew at it.

Danny grasped it and quickly spun towards the ghost, who was flying full speed at him. The evil spirit halted in surprise as a mischievous smile spread on the teen's face while he held the ghost thermos in his hands. "I'm pretty sure this was meant for you," he said, before activating the device.

Desiree screamed in alarm and…pain? As a red beam shot out of the thermos and pulled her in.

Danny capped the thermos with a thoughtful frown.

"_I am not certain if undoing the wish will have consequences in itself; I have learned the hard way that not all is as at it seems with Desiree, that it why it is imperative that you do not let her take this away from you. Do not part from this thermos no matter what occurs."_

The teen's eyebrows creased. "That's why he brought the thermos; he knew…" The half-ghost quickly took to the sky with a set destination. There was no doubt in his mind now; today was Friday; today was two days ago! And by what Desiree said, Vlad was responsible for this. He needed to find him, and if it was indeed Friday, he knew exactly where he was

* * *

Danny landed down on the top doorstep of his house. Making sure no one was around he changed back. The teen lifted his hand to open the door, but quickly remembered the device he held. "Oh, right," he mumbled, before setting it down on one of the lower steps. He would have to come back out for it later. The last thing he needed was to complicate things with his parents by walking in there with a ghost hunting device that wasn't even his father's creation. Finally, without anymore hesitation, he stepped into his house. 

"Look who finally arrived. Hello, Daniel, how was school?"

Danny's eyes instantly locked with Vlad's humor-filled ones. As before, the man sat in the living room with his father, playing chess… and Cujo's toy in his hold.

"Danny!" The young half-ghost's attention ripped away from his arch enemy at seeing his mother walking towards him; he didn't miss her reprimanding tone of voice. "Mr. Lancer called me earlier today and told me you missed almost all first period! Not only that, but you arrived in your pajamas, bare feet, and without your school supplies!"

"Care to explain, Mister?" his father piped in, walking over to his wife and standing next to her, while he sent a disapproving look at his son.

Danny momentarily looked back at Vlad, only to find his smirk had widened. _"Great," _he thought,_ "I have to go through this again." _

"Well?" his father prompted.

Danny rubbed his neck. "I-uh… can't. I mean, I guess I just-

"He was with me."

Everyone turned their attention to Vlad. "He came to my aid after those two ghosts attacked me, Jack," the billionaire calmly explained, "I called this morning in hopes of reaching one my two dearest friends, but Daniel picked up instead. He must have been so concerned that he came right over; the rest I'm sure is self explanatory. So, you see, if you should be upset with anyone, it should be me," he finished, feigning guilt. Danny's lower jaw all but fell off his face.

"Well… I suppose we can't ground him if he was helping someone in need," Maddie said, her anger fading "… _even if it just so happens to be _him" she thought annoyed

"Of course we can't!" Jack beamed. "He saved my pal! Way to make your old man proud, son!" he said, giving him a hard pat on his back. Danny stumbled forward a bit from this, in turn, getting pushed past his disbelief. Still, he didn't say anything; he remained severely disturbed by what the evil half-ghost had just done.

Vlad stood and calmly fixed his jacket. "Well, Jack, Maddie, I thank you for your hospitality, but I really must be going."

"Going? But I thought you were staying for dinner, and then we would study that ghostly object!" Jack protested.

The billionaire sighed regrettably. "Yes, I would love to spend more time with you and Maddie, Jack, but I just remembered, there's something I left unfinished. I wouldn't be very responsible if I pushed it aside, now would I? But here; I'll leave this in your capable hands; I'm sure you will be able to put it to good use," he added, handing him the ghost dog's toy.

Jack accepted it with a sad sigh. "I understand, V-man; sometimes I forget we are not regular old college guys anymore," his face suddenly brightened, "We are both highly respected and needed citizens of society now, Vladdie, my man!"

His "friend" gave him a tight smile, but didn't comment. "Well, Ta, Jack, my dear Maddie… Daniel," he said, ruffling the boy's hair as he passed him.

Something in the boy finally snapped at seeing his arch enemy leaving as if nothing had occurred. "Wait!" he yelled, earning quizzically looks from his parents. Vlad turned around and raised an eyebrow at him, a small smile on his lips.

"Yes?" he asked, innocently.

"I-I… I'll ….walk you out;" he finally decided to say and walked over to him.

Vlad's smile widened. "Ah, what a gentleman," he replied, only Danny catching his mocking tone.

Jack watched with a proud smile as Vlad opened the door, and allowed the teen to step out, before doing so himself. "It's so wonderful to see, my son and best friend, on such good terms," he stated, wiping a tear from his eyes and sniffing a bit.

Maddie sighed helplessly. "Yes, wonderful; come on Jack, help me set the table.

* * *

Danny crossed his arms as he watched Vlad close the door behind and walk down the steps to where he stood. "Okay, Vlad, talk; what happened? How the heck did you manage to erase two whole days?!" 

The man chuckled. "Ah, so you figured it out, eh? Tell me, my boy, how long did that take you?" he asked teasingly.

"Quit it, Plasmius; just tell me!" the teen snapped in frustration.

Vlad causally leaned against a light pole, his arms crossing as he gave the teen a smug smile. "You'd be surprised the things you can do through a wishing ghost's powers… or perhaps you shouldn't be; _little badger_. "

Danny cringed at the name, much to the other hybrid's amusement. The teen quickly covered his unease with a frown and pondered on what the man had just said. He was certain his arch-enemy wasn't able to undo the wish in time; the painful headache he received because of it was the last clear memory he had. "A loop hole?" he concluded.

The man chuckled once more. "Something like that; more like a high risk, second plan, Daniel…I wasn't entirely sure if I would have _the_ _time_ to try it or if it would prove effective… luckily it all worked out," he stated, lifting a hand to his eyelevel and willing pink ecto energy for emphasis.

Danny couldn't help but smile. "Not bad, cheese head, too bad no one else thought of that; we could have avoided a lot."

"Oh no, dear boy; this little trick wouldn't have worked if it had been attempted by anyone other then me. You see, my wish against you was binding, and so any wish that went against it would null unless it came from me. It might have been too late to undo the spell directly, but I had a feeling I could do so indirectly... if it came to it."

Danny nodded, and they both fell silent. The teen rubbed his neck as he looked anywhere but at the man next to him. Vlad, on the other hand, was watching the nervous boy with an amused expression. "So… you're really not staying?" Danny asked awkwardly.

"No," he replied evenly, although his eyes were smiling. Danny nodded once more and slipped his hands in his pockets. "Odd, you almost look… disappointed."

"W-What? No! Of course not! I-I'm just surprised you'd pass up the opportunity to flirt with my mom, and insult my dad," he explained in an annoyed tone.

Vlad laughed. "Yes, I so enjoy doing those things, but I think you have forgotten the reason I came here tonight, Daniel"

Danny frowned at his words. He couldn't believe how drastically the man could change his attitude towards him. Wasn't this the same person that had told him to fight against Desiree's spell; that had tried to protect him when they fell from the sky; that had told him he wished they didn't have to be enemies? The teen sighed and looked up at the sky. "Look Vlad, I just came out here to…"

"Yes?" Vlad urged with a smirk.

Danny looked at his enemy with a serious expression "Why did you cover for me back there?" he asked, choosing the easiest question out of the many that swirled in his head.

Vlad's amusement fell, his expression becoming unreadable. He knew what the boy was really asking. The man stood up straight, but kept his arms crossed. He remained silent for a moment, his eyes staring at nothing in particular. Just when Danny was sure the man wasn't going to answer him, he looked back at him with a raised eyebrow. "I was sure it was obvious, Daniel. I see no reason to let you get in trouble with your parents or to stay, when I have already accomplished my goal," he replied offhandedly

The teen's eyebrows creased with uncertainty. "Goal?"

Vlad smiled coldly. "To teach you a lesson; to humiliate you; don't tell me you have forgotten?" he chuckled smugly. "Surely not, because I made sure you remembered; no one else might recall everything that happened, but you and I do; and that's enough for me, _little badger._ Technically, those events never happened, but in here," he said, tapping the boy's forehead, "they have; so, do avoid yourself any further humiliation and stop trying to thank me; isn't that what you were about to do? Don't waste anymore dignity, Daniel; I did _nothing_ for you."

Hurt momentarily flashed in Danny's eyes, but they quickly narrowed with anger. "In your dreams, Plasmius; I would never thank a selfish jerk like you!" he assured hatefully.

His enemy laughed heartedly. "Of course you wouldn't," he agreed sarcastically.

Danny roughly shoved the man away from him. "Just leave already, Plasmius!" he shouted angrily

The older half-ghost raised his hands in mock surrender as he let out a small chuckle. "Gladly, but I have a question for you," he said, a large grin forming on his face, "should I throw away that water bottle or would you like it?"

Danny's face filled with complete fury. What the heck had he been thinking? He must have been really messed up to have even contemplate the possibility of his enemy having a heart. "Give that stupid bottle to your lonely guy cat, fruit loop!" he growled before stomping up the stairs and slamming the door behind him. Danny never saw Vlad's smug look fall into a sober one.

"Danny?" Jazz questioned as she walked down the stairs and caught sight of her brother. "Are you alright? Where's Vlad?" she asked concerned.

"He's gone," he mumbled, his arms crossed in anger.

Jazz's expression filled with confusion. "Really? He was in here a minute ago telling mom and dad something about the ghost boy and his dog wrecking his house and endangering him. Danny, you're not pulling pr-"

"No, Jazz; calm down," Danny cut off, knowing exactly what she was about to say, "it's over; he already did what he came to do," he added bitterly, before raising a questioning eyebrow at his sister, "You don't… remember?"

"Remember what?" she asked with a frown.

"What… he… did," the half-ghost replied carefully. Jazz gave him a lost look. He sighed in defeat. "Never mind; Look, Can you tell mom I'll be down for dinner in a little while?"

"Okay," she replied, looking strangely at her brother. She watched him jog up the stairs with a pondering frown, but she soon shook her head and left towards the kitchen.

Danny was about to enter his room, but then, he suddenly halted. "The thermos; I left it outside!" he told himself, smacking his head. Deciding he didn't want to walk down the stairs again, he went ghost and flew out his window. The hybrid landed down at the doorsteps, only to discover the device he came for wasn't there anymore. "Hey, where did the ghost thermos go?" he wondered as he looked around the area for it.

Danny's eyes quickly lit with realization and anger. "Plasmius," he mumbled. The teen growled as his hands fisted. "Darn it! He distracted me so that I would forget about the thermos… He took it."

Danny sighed tiredly, his anger fading. He didn't need to ponder why the man took the ghost device, it was obvious… but what did he plan to do with the ghost genie; what _could_ he do? "Ugh, whatever," he dismissed and flew back to his room. If Vlad wanted to get into a fight with Desiree that was his problem; heck, if he was lucky, they'd kick each other's butts so he didn't have to deal with them for a good while

Danny quickly turned human as he landed back in his room. With a relieved sigh, he threw himself backwards on his bed. He lifted a hand in front of his face and inspected it thoughtfully as he passed his tongue over his now fangless teeth. "That _had_ to be the weirdest thing that has ever happened to me," he contemplated, remembering what it was like to be a small animal.

He was _so_ glad to be himself again, but he knew the evil half-ghost was right; he would never forget this. He was sure he would cringe every time Vlad called him "little badger" and what was worse, he couldn't decide if it was a good thing or a bad thing that his friends or sister didn't remember anything. Should he tell them?

Danny chuckled dryly "Would they believe me?" Alright, so they probably would, considering the things they saw every day; heck, even Sam had used Desiree's wish granting abilities to erase a fight that had occurred between. Still, he wasn't eager to tell them about _these_ events or at least not anytime soon; maybe once he sorted and made sense out of his somewhat obscured memories would he then tell them. Speaking of obscured memories, there was one in particular that bothered him.

"_I'm sorry that we have never been able to get along."_

"_So am I, Daniel. I truly wish things could be different,"_

Danny sat up with a deep frown on his face. He had meant what he said to the man, but he never thought he would find himself actually admitting it to him. But it was true, everything would be so much better if his arch enemy wasn't his arch enemy. What truly disturbed him most though, was that the older hybrid had also meant what he said; Danny was certain of that much. But Vlad couldn't _truly_ care for him as a son, could he? Especially when just a few minutes ago he assured him that nothing which had occurred was of any importance…

Danny shook his head and banished the thought for the sake of his own sanity. "Vlad's just nuts" he told himself, standing up and heading to his closet to change his clothes.

Despite that his enemy's words angered him; he didn't really feel _humiliated_ by the events… He actually had a lot of fun as a badger. The teen's lips spread into a wicked grin as he remembered all the things he had done to Vlad. "Heh, he might have humiliated me, but I got him right back… I say it's another draw," he said proudly as he finished changing. With a light hearted chuckle, he left his room and finally headed down to dinner.

* * *

Vlad let out a tired sigh. He wasn't very content with everything he had said to the boy sometime ago, but he couldn't have his young rival thinking anything would be different. For the sake of his own sanity, the older half-ghost had already forced himself to push aside some of the things that had occurred. He knew he held fatherly feelings towards the teen. However, he refused to accept those feelings were stronger then his despise for him. Plasmius wouldn't and couldn't accept that Danny was more then a very important pawn to him because it would ruin all his future plans… he didn't need another weakness. 

Vlad banished his thoughts as he arrived at his intended destination. He smirked evilly at the thermos in his hold. The moment he stepped out of the Fenton residence, he had caught sight of it and knew immediately who was within. The evil hybrid was well aware that Danny would run into Desiree and Skulker, Friday or rather today, so he knew if the teen would have the thermos in his grasp, he would use it. The billionaire didn't need to worry about Skulker being caught with it because his ally wasn't foolish enough to risk being trapped in _this_ device….

Vlad chuckled. "An improved version of Jack's ghost thermos… _very_ improved," he said wickedly. Originally, the device was designed with Danny in mind and so he had given a few to Valerie Grey… This ghost thermos was the perfect snare; the teen would surely have found himself in quite a pickle if the girl would have caught him with it…

Of course, that was never the case. Danny proved to be too quick for the huntress. But now, this device had served another purpose… Despite everything that was occurring, he had been planning his revenge on Desiree that entire time. He was not about to let the wishing ghost get away with tricking him scotch free.

That was the main reason he had brought it. Either he would use it after he undid the wish or he would make sure Danny would if he resorted to his alternate plan. Vlad had to admit, however, neither of his plans went like he had expected. He was very close to losing…

The man found it really ironic that even though he had dropped the thermos, the teen had found it before he made the wish. Vlad concluded that Danny must have run into it after he fled into the storage shed… "It's so wonderful when everyone does their part to assure my success," he said smugly.

The half-ghost had planned a darker fate for the wishing ghost then the one he would give her now… strangely enough, he felt light hearted, even after being so close to losing his life. For some reason he couldn't grasp, he wasn't as angry as he used to be and so his need for revenge had greatly diminished. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that he had been very bored lately; Amity Park was such a dreadful place to live and being the mayor of it even more so. For the most part, these past events had proven amusing at the very least. …He actually had fun.

Vlad landed on a barren Island in the Ghost Zone. He floated just above the thick layers of snow that blanketed the entire area. The half-ghost looked around for a moment, before lifting the thermos and releasing the ghost within it.

Plasmius calmly smiled at Desiree as her form solidified. She groaned softly before her blurry eyes lifted to the figure in front of her. "You!" she growled, lifting herself off the ground, only to suffer from vertigo and fall back down.

The man chuckled smugly and crossed his arms, while he observed the extremely weak looking ghost. "Something wrong, my dear?" he asked causally

Desiree slowly stood and pressed a hand to her head. "W-What have you done to me? I feel so…strange."

"Ah, yes, that might be due to the side affects that come with this device," he informed, momentarily lifting the thermos in his hand for emphasis. Desiree looked warily at the device the ghost boy had used to trap her before moving her eyes to the man in front of her as he continued. "You see, this device here isn't the one Daniel usually uses on you. It's my own device and I have made it so that it weakens any ghost it traps for twenty four hours. In short, you're powerless, my dear."

Fear briefly flashed in Desiree's eyes, but she quickly hid it with anger. "So what now? Are you going to destroy me?" she asked, rolling her eyes at him and crossing her own arms.

Vlad floated a step towards her, causing her boldness to waver "I could, couldn't I?" he replied darkly, but quickly adapted a smirk and waved his hand dismissively, "but no, I'm feeling merciful and have decided to _cool_ your ego instead," he said calmly.

Before Desiree could ask what he meant, a voice brought an answer. "At last! You will be my friend!!"

Vlad glared at Klemper, who was flying at full speed towards him with a large grin. "No, you over affectionate ice freak!" he yelled. The ghost instantly halted his approach and his bottom lip began to quiver while ice began to form in his hands. "But I have _brought_ you a friend," he added, his glare falling into an evil grin.

Klemper's face lit with hope "Really?" he asked, not bothering to hide the excitement that surged through him upon hearing the half-ghost's words.

"Um-hmm," the man replied, looking over at the very nervous wishing ghost. "Klemper, Desiree here has decided to spent a full day with you, isn't that wonderful?"

The ice ghost laughed with glee and quickly flew towards the wishing ghost, but Vlad quickly stopped him by raising a hand in front of Klemper. "Ah-Ah, just a moment, my obsessive friend," the ghost smiled brightly at being referred to as friend, "I have a condition you must meet if you want to enjoy her company."

"You're insane! I'm not staying here!" Desiree shouted furiously.

Vlad grinned widely at the angered ghost before turning back to Klemper who was shaking with anticipation. "You must promise me that you will use this day to the fullest, despite _those_ sorts of outburst from her; Trust me, she really wants to be your friend; make sure you treat her with very special _care_, hmm?" he asked innocently.

Klemper nodded furiously. "Yes! She will be my best friend!"

"Wonderful; she's all yours," he said evilly, stepping aside.

A look of pure panic showed on the wishing ghost's face as Klemper flew at her with a look of pure happiness "No! Stay back!" she screeched, backing away, but she couldn't do it fast enough and the ice ghost was soon constricting her in a hug.

"Friend!" Klemper exclaimed, his happiness triggering his ice powers.

"Get off me!" Desiree yelled, feeling her body begin to turn cold; she glared furiously at the half-ghost as his amused laughter caught her attention. "Do not dare leave me here, you arrogant freak!" she growled angrily.

Vlad smiled calmly. "It Plasmius, Vlad Plasmius; perhaps your time here will allow you to finally remember that, hmm? Ta, my dear; for your sake, hope our paths do not cross again." With a satisfied smirk on his lips, he flew away from Klemper's home and headed to his own in Amity.

As the wishing ghost's cry of anger and mortification slowly faded into the background, Plasmius smiled at the ghost thermos in his hand. Whoever said karma's rules couldn't be bent, had never met anyone like him. "Only a master of manipulation is capable of bending such rules and there's no better one then me," he said with a smug chuckle.

End

* * *

-sniffles- it's done. hmm, how long did that take me? -looks at published date- 3/15/07... that's... six months and eight days...wow... can't decide if that's good or bad, but here we are. I hope everyone was satisfied with the ending chapter and the story in general. As you saw, Vlad had never planned on harming Danny like I made you all believe.. yes, I am evil, or rather my Vlad muse is evil. I also wanted to add a few twists to this ending since I'm sure everyone had been expecting Vlad to undo the wish in time and Desiree to simply get tossed back in the GZ..heh-heh; So, I hope those small twists were to everyone's likings. Vlad's alternate wish was really a play off Sam's own wish in MB; she wishes that she never fought with Danny, that they remember everything, and that the emblem stayed... I'm sure you can see the similarity, so yes, not very orginal but I think it worked.

As you noticed I had Vlad and Danny think of each other differently after everything, even if Vlad pretended like he wasn't affected, but I did so with the purpose of showing Vlad's more human side. I don't think the fruit loop is completely evil, and it would be nice to see Vlad one day enjoy what he has, instead of focusing on what he doesn't...sadly that won't ever occur in the show...but in my mind... Moving on. Desiree's fate... what can I say, I thought it'd be hilarious if she was forced to stay with Klemper for a bit, she was quite evil to the half-ghosts... and she needs to make friends! lol! Oh, about the memory lost thing with everyone and regrading Danny's own memories; first, I decided to keep these events between Danny and Vlad because I believe it made the occurences between them more significant. Going to Danny's memories, he does remember everything but some of it is hazed, but parts where he's eyes had become fully brown in some scenes and after the sunrise he does not. See, despite that Danny was losing his ability to rationalize, he was still in there, like Vlad said at the flight scene. Just wanted to make that clear in case anyone was confused by that. Alright enough yapping, time to close.

I want to thank all of you for your support, for reading and for reviewing. Also, special thanks to those who drew those lovely pictures for me some time back. Not including this chapter I have 153 reviews; truly you are all too kind... let's see by how much that number grows with this final chapter -hint-hint- Seriously, though, let me know what you thought about the ending and the story in general, kay? Thanks again, and I hope to continue seeing you all over at "Checkmate" and my soon to come AU, "Dawning of a Sun" Hugs and badger shaped cookies for all!


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